Rural Texas Strong: Supporting Health and Wellness - The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) submits on behalf of rural Texans a request for $1,000,000,000 ($200,000,000 per year)* for Rural Texas Strong: Supporting Health and Wellness. Texas has filtered the federal Rural Health Transformation program notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) into six (6) distinctly Texan initiatives. The fragility of Texas’ rural health systems of care is profound. Rural healthcare providers provide care across large geographic areas to save and change lives. The Rural Texas Strong initiatives will support rural Texas as they strive for a future state of technology-supported vitality and longevity. Powered by a revitalized workforce and technological investments that will be sustained through aggregation and collaboration, Texas aims to launch a new era of rural wellness. Harnessing the synergy of our increasingly connected world, improvements in community health outcomes, and the desirable features of small town living, rural Texas will be a global model for how to live a well-balanced life. Rural Texans are the backbone of the Texas economy and culture. To reside – and thrive – in rural Texas, families need access to high-quality healthcare providers and services, freedom to select nutrition and wellness that makes sense, and innovative consumer-facing technology that connects with provider systems, regardless of location. When a Texas dairy farmer in his 30s is diagnosed with cancer, he should be able to get treatment close to home. His son, decades later, should have the ability to pursue educational and career opportunities in health professions so he can care for other families. And the healthcare workers in that community should have first-rate technology to coordinate his care. These are the simple, but very impactful, goals of the Texas plan. Through the Texas plan, we will implement the following initiatives: 1. Make Rural Texans Healthy Again 2. Rural Texas Patients in the Driver’s Seat 3. Lone Star Advanced AI and Telehealth 4. The Next Generation of The Small Town Doctor and Team 5. Unified Care Infrastructure and Rural Cyber Protection 6. Infrastructure and Capital Investments for Rural Texas Texas will use rural transformation funds to develop proactive wellness and nutrition programs (sub-awards to rural providers); to educate and attract health professionals to rural towns (sub-awards to rural providers); to protect health data and elevate technology in rural healthcare (subcontractors to provide services to rural providers). When implemented, we will add more than a thousand rural health professionals, mitigate chronic disease, and reduce duplicative health costs. The resilient Texas rural health system will be reinforced by this project. And, at the conclusion of our project, Texas will be able to show how all rural Texans have been uplifted by this program. Our rural health systems of care and rural Texas communities will be strengthened for the future generations of Texans who will thrive in rural Texas. *Texas uses the budget of $1,000,000,000 in accordance with the instructions in the Notice of Funding Opportunity, but requests the maximum possible amount of funding available. Texas is prepared to scale projects to utilize all funds awarded to the state.
