The Healthy Hometowns Initiative is the cornerstone of Iowa’s Rural Health Transformation strategy. The goal is to ensure that rural Iowans receive high-quality care close to home. Iowa is building strong care networks, recruiting healthcare providers, investing in equipment, improving cancer prevention, and strengthening EMS and school partnerships.
This effort is designed to improve rural health outcomes and align rural morbidity and mortality rates with more populated regions. It also prioritizes new technology, long-term access points, and seamless data systems for health partners statewide.
Strategic Goals for Rural Health in Iowa
Iowa’s Rural Health Transformation focuses on:
- Care delivered at the right location for the right need
- Rural outcomes that mirror outcomes in larger communities
- Workforce recruitment and retention
- Modern technology and data-sharing infrastructure
- Innovation in care delivery models
These goals are aligned to support sustainable healthcare for rural Iowa.
Hometown Connections: Building Local Access to Care
Hometown Connections is designed to strengthen rural care pathways and relationships among community providers.
Key activities include:
- Up to ten Centers of Excellence providing services such as maternal and child health, cancer, cardiovascular disease, behavioral health, and chronic disease care.
- School-based health partnerships that use staffing, telehealth, mobile units, and nutritional support.
- Coordinated community outreach and referral relationships among existing rural providers.
- Recruitment incentives to attract and retain healthcare providers in rural communities.
This approach blends clinical services with social supports, data sharing, joint agreements, nutrition promotion, and care coordination.
Best and Brightest Provider Recruitment Program
Iowa will release RFPs beginning in December 2025 to grow the rural healthcare workforce.
The Best and Brightest Provider Recruitment initiative will support up to 150 recruitment and retention awards.
Awards include relocation support, bonuses, and a five-year service commitment.
This workforce plan addresses one of the most significant challenges in rural healthcare: maintaining a stable and skilled provider base.
Best and Brightest Equipment Investments
Iowa will also invest in medical technology and infrastructure. Up to 34 organizations will receive support to purchase and install advanced medical technology, with minor facility modifications allowed.
Projected award amounts average $3.32 million per installation.
Technology upgrades will support diagnostics, improved workflows, and coordinated patient care.
Health Hubs: Coordinated Rural Care Models
Health Hubs will help rural Iowa hospitals and providers establish shared referral networks, business models, telehealth integration, and data systems. Technical assistance will include legal agreements, quality metrics, and planning.
Health Hubs promote coordinated care across multiple locations, rather than expecting all services to exist within a single facility.
Cancer Prevention, Screening, and Rural Cancer Hubs
Iowa’s cancer-focused investments include both prevention and care coordination.
The cancer strategy includes:
- A Cancer Health Hub Technical Assistance Provider.
- A screening and prevention program to expand outreach and distribute cancer testing equipment statewide.
- Screening tools such as fecal immunochemical tests, colonoscopy referrals, dermatoscopes, radon testing, and radon mitigation.
These programs aim to improve early detection and create clearer pathways to treatment.
Co-location Support for Community-Based Care
Iowa will procure a Co-location Technical Assistance Provider to support rural facilities that want to share staffing and space. This includes help creating agreements, coordinating care flow, and planning cost-sharing structures.
Co-location models may involve hospitals, FQHCs, behavioral health providers, social care agencies, and aging services.
These care models also support transportation vouchers, chronic disease monitoring, consumer-facing tools, and preventive screenings.
EMS: Community-Based Mobile Care
EMS Community Care Mobile will strengthen emergency and post-acute services through a statewide assessment.
Pilot work may include:
- Specialty neonatal and obstetric transport
- Post-discharge monitoring
- Preventive care and chronic disease outreach
- In-home visits and telehealth coordination
These programs use existing EMS vehicles to broaden access in rural communities.
Why the Rural Health Transformation Model Matters for Iowa
Together, these investments help rural communities by:
- Expanding the rural healthcare workforce
- Improving access to preventive and chronic care
- Increasing access to advanced medical technology
- Strengthening relationships among hospitals, schools, EMS, and health centers
- Creating sustainable delivery models suited to rural settings
Rural communities gain earlier diagnoses, better treatment access, and stronger long-term health outcomes.
Timeline for Iowa Grant Availability
Iowa expects to release multiple Rural Health Transformation RFPs beginning in December 2025. Award decisions are projected for February 2026 following a January proposal window.
These funding opportunities will support rural hospitals, health centers, EMS agencies, schools, and community organizations working to strengthen local access to care.
For help pursuing these opportunities and staying updated on RHTP RFPs, connect with Burrows Consulting.
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