Grants | SCDHHS

Grant Opportunities

Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP)

The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) was created under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act to help state governments strengthen healthcare access, quality and outcomes in rural communities. This federal initiative is led by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and focuses on promoting innovation, strategic partnerships, infrastructure development and workforce investment. Each state must apply for funding through the RHTP.

CMS has established the following strategic goals for the RHTP:

Make rural America healthy again
Sustainable access
Workforce development
Innovative care
Tech innovation

For more information, please visit CMS' website at www.cms.gov/rhtprogram.

RHTP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Webinar Slides and Recordings

South Carolina RHTP Grant Opportunities

South Carolina’s RHTP is administered by the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Applications for grants offered under four of the state’s RHTP initiatives: Connections to Care, Wellness Within Reach, Leveling up and Shoring Up to Sustainability are being accepted through June 1, 2026. Funding opportunities for the fifth of South Carolina’s RHTP initiatives, the Tech Catalyst Fund, will be announced through a future stage of SCDHHS’ RHTP implementation.

In addition to the FAQs linked above, information on grant applicant eligibility, application requirements and deadlines, brief descriptions of each initiative and the applications for funding under each initiative are available below.

Grant Applicant Deadlines

Activity	Dates
Posting Date	April 2, 2026
Questions Due	April 14, 2026
Application Due	June 1, 2026
Anticipated Notice of Award	July 31, 2026

Initiatives and Grant Applications

Connections to Care

Expands digital infrastructure by implementing electronic health records, remote patient monitoring, telehealth services and a statewide resource database platform to improve care coordination and access

Connections to Care Grant Application

Leveling Up

Scales successful pilot programs statewide, focusing on chronic disease management, pediatric care quality and workforce development

Leveling Up Grant Application

Wellness Within Reach

Deploys mobile health units, crisis response teams and pop-up clinics to bring care directly to underserved populations

Wellness Within Reach Grant Application

Shoring Up to Sustainability

Strengthens rural healthcare systems through targeted investments in workforce recruitment and retention, facility upgrades, and provider training

Shoring Up to Sustainability Grant Application

Tech Catalyst Fund

Supports rural health technology startups and community-based innovations to drive long-term health and economic improvements. Funding opportunities for the fifth of South Carolina’s RHTP initiatives, the Tech Catalyst Fund, will be announced through a future stage of SCDHHS’ RHTP implementation.*

*Funding opportunities for the fifth of South Carolina’s RHTP initiatives, the Tech Catalyst Fund, will be announced through a future stage of SCDHHS’ RHTP implementation.

South Carolina’s RHTP Application

Rural & Medically Underserved Area Grant

To improve access to necessary medical services across the state, especially in rural and medically underserved areas and communities, SCDHHS created a grant opportunity to support the creation and/or renovation of healthcare facilities that serve these targeted populations. Increasing patient access is essential to improving the health outcomes of these populations, reducing the overall cost of care, and addressing the growing health disparities in these areas.

Funds received under this grant must be used as one-time infrastructure funds to support rural and medically underserved areas through the creation or improvement of facilities that provide healthcare services to residents of those areas. The goal of the Rural & Medically Underserved Area Grant Opportunity is to promote the creation and/or improvement of healthcare facilities that deliver services that are high quality, cost-effective, coordinated, and equitable in rural and medically underserved settings. In order to achieve these goals, facilities have committed to improving health outcomes, increasing access to essential healthcare services, and providing quality care.

SCDHHS has issued $48.2 million in total funds to healthcare providers across the state to create and/or improve access to healthcare services in these rural and medically underserved areas. Grant awardees were awarded up to $3 million per application. The deadline to submit completed grant application packets to grants@scdhhs.gov was Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.

Grant awardees were notified via email on the grant award date, Feb. 2, 2024. View the list of the awardees below.

FAQs

Grant Application

Press release announcing Rural and Medically Underserved Area Grant awardees

Rural and Medically Underserved Area Grant awardees

Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Services Grant

To address the state’s need for behavioral health crisis stabilization services, SCDHHS created a grant opportunity to increase access to these services in hospitals across the state.

Crisis stabilization services grant funds must be used as one-time infrastructure funds to build specialized hospital-based emergency departments and observational units dedicated to behavioral health. These dedicated departments and units will need to operate on a “no wrong door” model providing a care alternative to emergency or inpatient admission or use of law enforcement resources that is available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has issued guidance on hospital-based crisis stabilization units, like those that may be built using SCDHHS’ behavioral health crisis stabilization services grant funds. The guidance addresses potential certificate of need and licensure implications and is available on DHEC’s website here.

SCDHHS will issue approximately $35,000,000 in total funds to hospitals across the state to build these specialized hospital-based emergency departments and observational units. The deadline to submit completed grant application packets to grants@scdhhs.gov was Tuesday, April 24, 2023.

Grant awardees were notified via via email on the grant award date, June 23, 2023. View the list of the awardees below.

Grant Application

For questions, see the Frequently Asked Questions document below or email grants@scdhhs.gov.

Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Services Grant FAQs

Press release announcing Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Services Grant awardees