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Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project

The Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP) guides small rural hospitals and certified rural health clinics as they prepare for participation in alternative payment and care delivery models.

In 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the nation's largest health payer, set the goal of transitioning all Medicare beneficiaries and a majority of Medicaid beneficiaries into a value-based care (VBC) model. 

The shift from a traditional fee-for-service model focused on volume to a VBC model focused on patient health outcomes leads to prevention-based patient services, increased patient engagement and satisfaction, reduced effects and incidence of chronic disease, improved quality of care, and lower costs for both patients and payers. 

RHPTP Application for the 2025-2026 Project Period is Now Open!

  • Application deadline is October 10, 2025, 11:59 p.m.
  • Cohort selection will be made in early November 2025
  • Technical assistance begins in early December 2025
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RHPTP Application and Interview Process Guide
National Rural Health Resource Center

The Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP), which began in 2020, provides 1:1 individualized technical assistance to four to six small rural hospitals and certified rural health clinics annually, to help them strengthen their organization's understanding of VBC and learn strategies they can use to be effective participants in a health care system focused on value. 

The RHPTP project exceeded my expectations 100 times over. Through the technical assistance we received, I learned that we CAN do better and that we CAN do more.

Blue Mountain Hospital, Blanding, UT

Project participants receive a range of virtual and on-site technical assistance, consultation, and coaching around organizational operations, readiness for assuming financial risk, and quality improvement in the areas of efficiency, building infrastructure to embed improvement into everyday practice, patient experience, or safety of care; participation in a learning collaborative; and post-project progress calls.

 

Additional Technical Assistance Offerings

  • All RHPTP-eligible organizations are invited to participate in the Health Education Learning Program (HELP) webinars.

 

RHPTP is supported through a cooperative agreement with the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy and administered by the National Rural Health Resource Center.

Eligible Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project applicants include small rural hospitals and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)-certified rural health clinics.

Applications can be made by individual health care organizations (critical access hospitals, small rural hospitals, rural health clinics), jointly by a hospital and a rural health clinic or clinics, or by a consortium of rural health clinics.

Each submitted application is followed by a 60-minute phone interview with members of the RHPTP team. 

Read more about RHPTP eligibility and the application process

Participant Satisfaction

RHPTP’s FY 2021 cohort reported overwhelming satisfaction with the program and its ability to help organizations meet the demands of the changing rural health care landscape. They also reported a strong willingness to recommend the program to others.

Upcoming Events

No upcoming events are currently posted. Please check back later. All events

Program Contacts

Ambresha Johnson, MHA

Program Manager
Headshot of Ambresha Johnson

Angie LaFlamme

Lead Program Specialist
Angie LaFlamme

Molly Carmack

Program Coordinator II
Molly C

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided financial support for this Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project. The award provided 100% of total costs and totaled $800,000. The contents are those of the author. They may not reflect the policies of HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

As a technical assistance provider to rural health care organizations, the National Rural Health Resource Center provides access to a wide range of resources on relevant topics. Inclusion on the National Rural Health Resource Center’s webpage or presentations does not imply endorsement of, or agreement with, the contents by the National Rural Health Resource Center or the Health Resources and Services Administration.