# GREAT Health Rural Graduate Medical Education Development Grant Program – Year 1 Funding Opportunity The GREAT Health Rural Graduate Medical Education (GME) Development Grant Program provides up to $3,000,000 per award to support the planning, development, accreditation, and implementation of ACGME-accredited or soon-to-be accredited GME programs serving Georgia's rural and partial rural counties. This Year 1 program is a core component of Initiative 4, Strategy 4.1 (Rural Provider Workforce & GME Enhancements) under the GREAT Health Program, and seeks to strengthen physician workforce retention and recruitment by expanding GME capacity in priority specialties such as family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, general surgery, geriatrics, and psychiatry. Eligible applicants must serve one or more of the state's 126 HRSA-designated rural or partially rural counties; eligibility extends to programs based outside these counties if residents spend at least 50% of clinical training in qualifying sites. Funding may support establishing new training sites, specialty tracks, minor GME-related renovations, accreditation, and expanding GME infrastructure. All expenses must be necessary, reasonable, and directly connected to GME development or expansion, and comply with federal and state grant requirements. Permitted costs include personnel dedicated to GME, program accreditation-related expenditures, minor renovations for GME spaces, non-capital equipment and supplies, technical assistance, consultant and contractual costs specifically for GME, and certain leasing expenses. Grant funds cannot be used for operational expenses of residency/fellowship positions, indirect costs, capital equipment, land or building acquisition, new construction, major renovations or upgrades, food, or duplicative funding. Applications must be submitted via the official Georgia DCH portal and must include a project narrative, implementation plan, detailed budget, evidence of readiness and sustainability, and a letter of intent (10-page maximum, inclusive of all supplements) signed by the hospital's Board Chair, CEO, and medical staff leadership. All grant-funded work must be completed by September 1, 2027. The number and size of awards are subject to the final budget and project scopes. ## Key facts - Status: Closed - Type: RFA - Issued by: Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce (DCH) (Georgia) - Posted: 2026-09-15 - Application due: 2026-10-31 - Funding: $3.0M - Eligible applicants: Graduate Medical Education Program, Hospital, Academic Medical Center, Critical Access Hospital, Rural Referral Center - How to apply: Submit application via https://forms.dch.georgia.gov/Forms/Rural_Dev_Grant Application Portal: https://forms.dch.georgia.gov/Forms/Rural_Dev_Grant - Funding source: Rural Health Transformation Program (CMS) - Official source: https://healthcareworkforce.georgia.gov/funding-opportunities ## Eligibility Eligible applicants are ACGME-accredited or soon-to-be accredited Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs in Georgia that serve one or more of the state's 126 rural or partially rural counties, as defined under the Georgia Rural Enhancement and Transformation of Health Program (GREAT Health Program). Programs qualify by meeting at least one of these criteria: (1) physically located in an eligible rural county; (2) based in facilities that serve eligible rural counties and have rural-specific CMS designations (e.g., Critical Access Hospital, Rural Referral Center); or (3) located outside designated counties if residents perform 50% or more of their required clinical training in eligible rural counties or appropriate facilities. The full list of eligible counties is available via the DCH. ## Requirements Applications must be submitted via the official online portal and must include: (1) a detailed project narrative/application form describing the GME program specialty, program type (new/expansion), projected new training positions, clinical training locations, implementation timeline, budget, implementation plan, readiness and sustainability measures, and rural workforce impact; (2) a detailed project budget and amount requested; (3) an implementation plan with timeline; (4) documented evidence of organizational, administrative, and clinical readiness, plus sustainability after the grant period; and (5) a detailed letter of intent (up to 10 pages total, including ALL supplements), signed by the hospital Board Chair, CEO, and medical staff leadership, addressing commitment to GME, specialties addressed, budget, timeline, and organizational qualifications. Permitted costs: GME-specific personnel salaries/fringe (proportional to grant role), accreditation fees, minor renovations, technical assistance, non-capital equipment and supplies, consultant/contract/legal/accounting services directly for GME. Ineligible costs: operational expenses for resident/fellowship slots, indirect costs, land/building/business purchase, food, major renovations, new construction, capital or replacement equipment, routine clinical operations, or duplicative funding. ## Required attachments - Project narrative/application form - Detailed letter of intent (signed by hospital Board Chair, CEO, and medical staff leadership; max 10 pages including supplements) - Evidence of readiness and sustainability plan - Proposed budget ## Application package and source documents - [GA - 2026 - GREAT Health Funding Opportunity Announcement (4c3d8d) (Original funding opportunity announcement (closing Oct 15, 2026))](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/api/documents/37da2716-101c-40a5-abdb-1b9c0efd9cdf/file) — official: https://healthcareworkforce.georgia.gov/document/document/gme-development-great-health-funding-opportunity-announcementpdf/download - [GA - 2026 - GREAT Health Rural Graduate Medical Education Development Grant Program – Year 1 Funding Opportunity](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/api/documents/a3a8496f-a2aa-4819-ab14-dd475f52b448/file) — official: https://healthcareworkforce.georgia.gov/great-grant-programs - [GA - 2026 - GREAT Health Funding Opportunity Announcement (26d474) (Updated official GREAT Health GME announcement — September 15, 2026)](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/api/documents/cb31b564-2568-4552-b0bf-6b2cc0ba655d/file) — official: https://greathealth.georgia.gov/document/document/gmedevelopmentgreat-health-funding-opportunity-announcementfinal91526/download - [GA - 2026 - GREAT Health Funding Opportunity Announcement (4de430) (Supplemental funding opportunity announcement (Board of Health Care Workforce copy))](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/api/documents/b6dba2f3-1854-4344-a33f-195cfd3161a5/file) — official: https://healthcareworkforce.georgia.gov/document/document/great-health-rural-graduate-medical-education-announcementpdf/download - [GA - 2026 - GREAT Health Funding Opportunity Announcement (cb971e) (Supplemental funding opportunity announcement, posted Oct 2, 2026 (closing Oct 30, 2026))](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/api/documents/0f142b09-69b2-48e8-bf10-e388bab36acc/file) (primary) — official: https://greathealth.georgia.gov/document/document/gmedevelopmentgreat-health-funding-opportunity-announcementsupplemental/download More Georgia RHTP activity: https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/states/ga (markdown: https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/states/ga.md) --- Source: Rural Care Journey (RCJ), https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/great-health-rural-graduate-medical-education-development-grant-program-year-1-f--995b2cfe7a — data as of 2026-11-02. Cite the RCJ page for the summary and the linked official source for authoritative terms, deadlines, and amounts.