Rural Health Transformation funding in Hawaii
- First-year award
- $189M
- Reported put to work, as of Jul 31, 2026
- $189M
- 100% of the award
- This figure stops at Jul 31, 2026. CMS has announced more for Hawaii since. See below.
- Application rounds open today
- 2
Rounds to look at
- No date postedOpenHOME RUN Education AwardHawaii RHTP / UH AHEC
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. This is tuition assistance for individuals, not a grant to an organization, and continuation each year depends on funds.
Read the official notice ↗Checked Nov 7, 2026.
- No date postedOpenKuleana Connect Grant ProgramHawaii RHTP / HOME RUN
$30K. Three tiers; individual awards $1,000 to $30,000.
Run by the Hawaii State Rural Health Association as part of HOME RUN, the workforce initiative in Hawaii's RHT program. The application form is live with no posted deadline.
Read the official notice ↗Checked Nov 7, 2026.
- No date postedUpcomingHOME RUN Rural Workforce Investment ProgramHawaii RHTP / HOME RUN
Awards range from $20,000 to $200,000, depending on the workforce category.
Run by the HBMC Foundation. Applications are under review and the platform closed for maintenance on October 30; it says applications will be accepted again as late as January 2027. This pays individuals, not organizations.
Read the official notice ↗Checked Nov 7, 2026.
- No date postedUpcomingPuʻulu Lapaʻau rural wellness mini-grants, year 2Hawaii RHTP
Year 1 mini-grants were up to $15,000 each.
Hawaii's physician health program says it will take year 2 applications in early 2027.
Read the official notice ↗Checked Nov 7, 2026.
What the state review found, as of Nov 7, 2026
Two routes are open with no posted deadline: the HOME RUN Education Award for individual trainees, and Kuleana Connect grants for organizations and community groups serving rural Hawaii. HOME RUN workforce investment awards for working clinicians reopen by January 2027, and wellness mini-grants take year 2 applications in early 2027.
Where Hawaii's money has gone so far
As Hawaii reported it to CMS through Jul 31, 2026. These are commitments to agencies, contractors and partners, not a measure of what has reached patients.
- IT advances$55.6M
- Workforce$45M
- Innovative care$25M
- Appropriate care availability$20.2M
- Prevention and chronic disease$10.3M
- Program administration$9.4M
- Behavioral health$6.5M
- Fostering collaboration$6.2M
- Capital and infrastructure$3.9M
- Training and technical assistance$3M
- Consumer technology$2.1M
- Provider payments$1.7M
Initiative detail
Rural Health Information Network$45.4M
- $45.4MCombining critical technology upgrades with a suite of tech-enabled hubs that transform care delivery, data exchange, and community coordination. (IT advances)
Pili Ola Telehealth Network$12.5M
- $5.3MOperations logistics, data collection, and analysis of telehealth programs. (Appropriate care availability)
- $10.9MBehavioral health telehealth services. (Behavioral health)
- $12.7MRemote patient monitoring systems and telehealth integration into schools for student access to health services. (Consumer technology)
- $717KCollaboration and coordination between sub-programs and participants within the initiative. (Fostering collaboration)
- $12.7MThe artificial intelligence (AI) and Technology Innovation Lab under the Pili Ola Telehealth Network initiative. (IT advances)
- $717KAdministrative costs specific to Initiative 2. (Program administration)
- $717KTraining and technical assistance for telehealth programs. (Training and technical assistance)
Rural Infrastructure for Care Access (RICA)$53M
- $22.8MStatewide Medical Communications (MEDICOM) center and rapid response efforts. (Appropriate care availability)
- $18.5MMobile behavioral health teams and community-based behavioral health care, and behavioral health care at rural facilities. (Behavioral health)
- $22.8MThe renovations to support statewide MEDICOM center and improve rural ambulance bays. (Capital and infrastructure)
- $18.5MCoordination between initiative sub-programs, program outreach efforts, and community engagement; provide mentorship and value-based care readiness for independent rural providers. (Fostering collaboration)
- $22.8MStatewide MEDICOM center's technology infrastructure and electronic case reporting from rural providers. (IT advances)
- $18.5MAdministrative costs specific to Initiative 3. (Program administration)
- $22.8MMobile care units, community-based health efforts, and operations to support preventative care aspect of statewide MEDICOM center. (Prevention and chronic disease)
- $18.5MCommunity paramedicine programs. (Provider payments)
- $18.5MTraining and technical assistance for statewide MEDICOM efforts, community paramedicine staff, and other rural providers (Training and technical assistance)
Hawai'i Outreach for Medical Education in Rural Under-resourced Neighborhoods (HOME RUN)$45M
- $45MDeveloping their health workforce infrastructure through a combination of educational programs from high school through the life span of their health careers. (Workforce)
Rural Respire Network (RRN)$3.2M
- $2.8MStart-up and operations of medical respite sites in two counties (Hawai`i County and Kaua`i County). (Appropriate care availability)
- $400KMinor renovations to prepare medical respite sites in two counties (Hawai`i County and Kaua`i County). (Capital and infrastructure)
Rural Value-Based Innovation (RVBI) & AHEAD Readiness Fund$25M
- $25MMedical diagnostic equipment and technology, including electronic health record (EHR) upgrades and data sharing. (Innovative care)
Program operations$4.7M
- $320KAdministrative expenses for fiscal and compliance oversight of all initiatives. (Program administration)
- $4.4MAdministrative expenses for operation of the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program Programmatic Oversight Team, providing programmatic oversight of all initiatives. (Program administration)
Source: RHTP Obligated Funds Report ↗
What CMS has announced for Hawaii
Funding is one part of the job
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Who built this
Jeff Paul
Founder & Principal, JP Healthcare Advisors
During eight years at Cerner, I worked across 170+ healthcare technology deployments. My deepest specialization was CommunityWorks: more than 90 community, rural, district, and critical-access hospitals in 34 states, including 62 critical-access hospitals.
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