# California — Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP)

The California Rural Health Transformation (CalRHT) Program is entering its first budget period, administered by the Department of Health Care Access and Information with CMS oversight. It is focused on building a connected and resilient rural health system, emphasizing workforce recruitment and retention, infrastructure and EHR modernization, access challenges, and community engagement. Current activities include grant-funded initiatives for workforce expansion, care model improvements, and technology upgrades, coordinated with webinars and stakeholder meetings. Current structured plan tracks 3 key initiatives and 13 strategic goals.

## At a glance

- Federal awards to date: $464,745,131.25 (Year 1 $233.6M + Year 2 $231.1M)
- Implementation phase (RCJ): IMPLEMENTING
- Funding opportunities tracked: 9 (2 open or announced, 7 closed)
- Awards recorded: $138.5M to 90 recipients
- Critical Access Hospitals: 35
- Rural population share: 2%

## Current progress

California has publicly announced recommended subrecipients for CalRHT Budget Period 1, providing $166.72 million in conditional grant funding to 108 organizations across 45 counties. Awardees are finalizing grant agreements, with further rounds anticipated. The state continues technical support and is planning additional award announcements. Application periods have concluded for key initiatives, and program guidance remains ongoing. State opportunities: 2 active (1 open, 1 closing soon, 4 past/closed), $105.3M listed funding. Key opportunities: CalRHT 2026 Tribal Set-Aside Noncompetitive Grant Funding Application; CalRHT UCI TNT, IHOPE and MBH Fellowship Applications; CalRHT Workforce Development Recruitment and Retention Program (WDRR). Strategy alignment: supports workforce, maternal health priorities.

## CMS published status (State Data Maps)

- State Policy Action commitments: 0 of 19
- Initiatives (3), current CMS stage of each:
  - The Rural Health Technology & Tools Initiative — Stage 2
  - The Rural Health Transformative Care Model Initiative — Stage 2
  - The Rural Health Workforce Development Initiative — Stage 2
- CMS data captured 2026-11-11, last confirmed 2026-11-11

## Open and announced opportunities

- [CalRHT 2026 Tribal Set-Aside Noncompetitive Grant Funding Application](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/calrht-2026-tribal-set-aside-noncompetitive-grant-funding-application--25159fd1d9) — RFA; Closing soon; due 2026-11-20; $100,000 – $11.7M
- [CalRHT UCI TNT, IHOPE and MBH Fellowship Applications](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/calrht-uci-tnt-ihope-and-mbh-fellowship-applications--9a9285a43a) — GRANT; Open

## Closed opportunities (7, most recent first)

- [CalRHT Workforce Development Recruitment and Retention Program (WDRR)](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/calrht-workforce-development-recruitment-and-retention-program-wdrr--e14edce7bb) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-08-31; $54.2M
- [CalRHT EHR Modernization Grant Program (Initiative 3: Technology and Tools)](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/calrht-ehr-modernization-grant-program-initiative-3-technology-and-tools--74c4eb9cf5) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-08-21
- [CalRHT Accelerator Partners RFA (Initiative One: Transformative Care Model)](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/calrht-accelerator-partners-rfa-initiative-one-transformative-care-model--ed893f752e) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-08-14; $39.0M
- [CalRHT Family Medicine Obstetrics (FM-OB) Fellowship Subaward Program RFA](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/calrht-family-medicine-obstetrics-fm-ob-fellowship-subaward-program-rfa--d10541298a) — RFA; Closed; due 2026-08-14; $150,000 – $500,000
- [Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program Grants](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/small-rural-hospital-improvement-program-grants--d3d4cdb750) — GRANT; Closed; due 2026-01-16; state-funded, not RHTP
- [California Federal RHTP Award: Year 1 (FY 2026)](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/california-federal-rhtp-award-year-1-fy-2026--83cba67069) — AWARD; Closed; $233.6M
- [California Federal RHTP Award: Year 2 (FY 2027)](https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/opportunities/california-federal-rhtp-award-year-2-fy-2027--d7242d7ed2) — AWARD; Closed; $231.1M

## Largest recorded awards

- Ridgecrest Regional Hospital — $6.9M (FY2026)
- Southern California Rural Health Collaborative – University of California, San Diego — $6.2M (FY2026)
- Mee Memorial Healthcare System — $6.1M (FY2026)
- Sierra View Medical Center — $4.7M (FY2026)
- Mayers Memorial Hospital District — $4.5M (FY2026)
- Pioneers Memorial Hospital — $4.4M (FY2026)
- United Indian Health Services, Inc. — $4.3M (FY2026)
- Fairchild Medical Center — $3.6M (FY2026)
- San Benito Healthcare District/Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital — $3.4M (FY2026)
- Plumas District Hospital — $3.2M (FY2026)
- Southern Inyo Healthcare District — $3.0M (FY2026)
- Lompoc Valley Medical Center — $2.9M (FY2026)
- Adventist Health Howard Memorial — $2.6M (FY2026)
- Adventist Health Sonora — $2.6M (FY2026)
- Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley — $2.6M (FY2026)

## Official sources RCJ monitors

- [CA RHTP Primary](https://hcai.ca.gov/workforce/health-workforce/california-state-office-of-rural-health/)
- [CA CalRHT Funding Page](https://hcai.ca.gov/rural-health/calrht/)
- [CA CalRHT Submittable Application Portal](https://calruralhealth.submittable.com/submit)

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Source: Rural Care Journey (RCJ), https://www.ruralcarejourney.com/states/ca — data as of 2026-11-11.
Cite the RCJ page for the summary and the linked official source for authoritative terms, deadlines, and amounts.