The State of Florida will distribute nearly $188 million to health care providers and community organizations across 31 rural counties as part of an effort to expand access to medical services and strengthen the rural health workforce, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday.
The funding will support more than 80 awards to hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers, rural health clinics and other organizations serving nearly 1.2 million Floridians, according to the governor’s office. The money will be distributed through Florida’s Rural Health Transformation Program, which is administered by the Agency for Health Care Administration. Florida received $209 million through the federal-state initiative, which is intended to improve rural health systems, modernize infrastructure and expand the availability of care.
Projects receiving funding include expanded clinical training and rural rotations, new rural and satellite clinics, mobile health units, remote patient monitoring and telehealth services. Some awards will also focus on recruiting and training health care workers in communities where providers can be difficult to attract and retain.
The regional figures provided by the state are rounded.
The Northwest Region will receive the largest share of the funding, with 35 awards totaling $81 million. The Northeast Region will receive $51 million through 14 awards, while 21 recipients in the Southwest Region will receive $45 million. Eleven awardees in the Southeast Region will receive $12 million.
“These awards not only support essential health care initiatives that increase access to care, they strengthen the foundation of communities—building new opportunities for job creators and job seekers and supporting Florida’s position as the best state in the nation to live, work and do business,” saidFlorida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly.
The latest round of awards follows earlier funding used to establish systems for tracking spending, outcomes and program requirements. AHCA said the new awards complete the allocation of Florida’s current Rural Health Transformation Program funding.
AHCA Secretary Shevaun Harris said recipients were selected through a competitive, merit-based review process and submitted plans outlining how they would use the funding in their communities.
The awards represent the first year of what state officials described as a five-year initiative expected to direct more than $1 billion toward rural health care in Florida.
Senate President Ben Albritton said the funding builds on previous state initiatives focused on health care access and rural development, including the Legislature’s Live Healthy and Rural Renaissance efforts.
