MONTGOMERY– Nearly $55 million in rural healthcare grants will support maternal care, emergency services, cancer screening, and workforce training across Alabama. The funding covers 34 awards to healthcare providers and institutions serving rural communities.
The Trump administration announced the investment Thursday through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Gov. Kay Ivey also announced the awards as Alabama’s second grant round for 2026.
The awards support projects under the Rural Health Transformation Program and complete its initial year-one award cycle. However, the nearly $55 million represents only part of Alabama’s overall federal allocation of about $203.4 million.
Grants Will Serve Cherokee, Calhoun, and Etowah Counties
Piedmont Emergency Rescue Squad Inc. will receive $381,220 for a telehealth-enabled EMS treat-in-place program serving Calhoun, Cherokee, and Etowah counties. Trained paramedics will assess and treat qualifying patients at their location with real-time physician support. The program focuses on patients who do not need hospital transport.
In addition, Advantage Emergency Medical Services LLC will receive $285,675 for an Etowah County treat-in-place program. Its paramedics will assess patients and connect them with an emergency physician through real-time telehealth when transport may be unnecessary.
These projects will also strengthen local access to physician-supported care outside a hospital setting.
Maternal Care, Cancer Screening, and Workforce Training
Statewide projects will equip at least 20 rural hospitals with emergency labor and delivery resources. The funding will also connect rural facilities with maternal-fetal medicine specialists through telehealth and telerobotic ultrasound.
Those resources will help providers stabilize mothers and newborns before transfer. Meanwhile, emergency-care projects will improve coordination for trauma, stroke, and other complex conditions.
Cancer-screening initiatives will expand mobile and community services. In addition, local organizations and partner groups will help rural residents access those screenings.
Workforce projects will also expand training for physicians, nurses, EMS personnel, midwives, dental professionals, and other healthcare workers. For example, the grants will support remote learning, clinical partnerships, hands-on training, and provider incentives.
The Alabama Community College System will also receive $20.6 million to expand a statewide rural healthcare workforce pipeline. That project includes emergency medical technician training, allied health programs, and expanded nursing education.
The grants will also support electronic health records, cybersecurity, telehealth, and behavioral healthcare. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said the agency wants the funding to produce lasting improvements in rural health systems.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs administers the state’s program. Earlier this year, WEIS reported on Alabama’s healthcare legislation and rural health funding.
For more information, visit the federal Rural Health Transformation Program website.
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