# RISE: 2.5 Recruit and Retain Rural Clinical Workforce RFGA

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services, under the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), is soliciting applications for the RISE Initiative 2.5: Recruit and Retain Rural Clinical Workforce RFGA. This opportunity makes available up to $20 million in total funding for eligible Utah-based entities to increase recruitment and retention of rural clinical providers. Grantees will implement structured financial incentives, ensure mandatory distribution of tribal rider funding for Indian Health Service, Tribal, and Urban Indian (I/T/U) organizations per designated Tier, and monitor fulfillment of 5-year service commitment requirements. The RFGA emphasizes recruitment across five distinct Tiers: Rural Hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Rural Health Clinics, Rural Nursing Homes & SNFs, and Independent Billing Providers. Deliverables include clear outreach to eligible Tiers, transparent sub-award processes, compliance with the provided budget template, and rigorous reporting on recruitment outcomes and expenditures. Selected applicants must demonstrate capacity to independently bill Medicaid/Medicare and provide at least 15 hours of direct patient care per week.

## Key facts

- Status: Closed
- Type: RFA
- Issued by: Utah Department of Health and Human Services (Utah DHHS) (Utah)
- Posted: 2026-05-15
- Questions due: 2026-07-31
- Application due: 2026-08-04
- Funding: $20.0M
- Eligible applicants: For-profit Utah entities, Non-profit Utah organizations, Utah government entities
- How to apply: Submit completed applications via the official DHHS Rural Health Transformation Program portal: https://dhhs.utah.gov/ruralhealth/ by 5:00 p.m. MT on August 4, 2026. Direct questions to ruralht@utah.gov. Official Q&A, budget templates, and updates are posted at the program website.
- Funding source: Rural Health Transformation Program (CMS)
- Official source: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1_EdaUD1FDFKCKX3Jla5_ujJSbSfD7i1F

## Eligibility

Applicants must be Utah-based legal entities (for-profit, nonprofit, or government) authorized to operate and registered as active vendors with Utah State Purchasing as of submission. Entities must be in good standing, not debarred or suspended from receiving federal or state funding, and able to independently bill Medicaid and/or Medicare. Providers supported under this program must deliver at least 15 hours of direct patient care weekly.

## Requirements

One proposal per entity is permitted. Applicants must use the official budget template and identify the Tier(s) of rural health organizations they will serve. Applications must outline plans for transparent sub-award and tribal rider distribution, implementation of a structured incentive plan aligned with the CMS 5-year service commitment, and ongoing tracking of provider retention, outreach, and metric reporting. Recipients are required to maintain accessible project web pages with eligibility and application instructions and to provide quarterly invoicing, expenditure reports, and best practice sharing.

## Required attachments

- Completed Budget Template
- Project Narrative
- Action Plan

## Application package and source documents

- [UT - 2026 - RISE: 2.5 Recruit and Retain RFGA](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/api/documents/b3b564fd-5e0f-421e-ba62-cf53181e0c24/file) (primary) — official: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1_EdaUD1FDFKCKX3Jla5_ujJSbSfD7i1F
- [WY - 2025 - RHT (RHT) Program](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/api/documents/16ed8b87-fb4d-4cc5-87dd-8e14d33a83da/file) — official: https://www.cms.gov/priorities/rural-health-transformation-rht-program/rural-health-transformation-rht-program?auHash=giZDOV_0UxTb7MzVnomtksGsTRf1kt3OMe5aKMIt1vc

More Utah RHTP activity: https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/states/ut (markdown: https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/states/ut.md)

---
Source: Rural Care Journey (RCJ), https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/rise-2-5-recruit-and-retain-rural-clinical-workforce-rfga--005b18d6d0 — data as of 2026-08-11.
Cite the RCJ page for the summary and the linked official source for authoritative terms, deadlines, and amounts.