Indiana has been awarded nearly $207 million for the first year of a five-year federal Rural Health Transformation Program aimed at improving health outcomes in rural communities.

The funding will support GROW (Growing Rural Opportunities for Well-being): Cultivating Rural Health, a statewide initiative focused on improving healthcare access, quality, data use and outcomes through systemwide collaboration.

The first-year award exceeds the roughly $200 million the state requested in its Nov. 4 application. Federal officials cited factors such as rural health metrics, proposals to improve access to and quality of care, and initiatives expected to have the greatest impact on rural communities.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration and the Indiana Department of Health will oversee the program's implementation. State officials described GROW as a coordinated effort to strengthen rural healthcare systems through infrastructure development, workforce investment, partnerships and new care models.

The initiative is organized around five core priorities:

• Health improvement: Support evidence-based initiatives to improve preventive care, chronic disease management, behavioral health and prenatal care in rural areas.
• Sustainable access: Improve the long-term viability of rural clinicians and facilities by strengthening coordination with regional health systems and expanding access to primary, specialty and emergency care.
• Workforce development: Enhance recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals while expanding care teams to include community health workers, behavioral health specialists and other support staff.
• Care delivery innovation: Encourage new service models, including prenatal care approaches, and payment strategies designed to improve outcomes and care coordination while reducing costs.
• Technology and data: Expand the use of digital health tools to improve remote care, data sharing and system integration.

State leaders plan to implement 12 initiatives aligned with the federal program’s goals. Eleven initiatives will be deployed statewide to address challenges such as workforce shortages and infrastructure needs.

A portion of the funding will be distributed directly to rural communities through regional grants over the five years. The grants are intended to support locally driven projects, allowing communities to identify specific needs and collaborate on shared resources.

The combination of statewide frameworks and local decision-making is intended to create flexible, community-specific solutions to improve rural health outcomes across Indiana.