On January 13, 2025, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) announced an opportunity to apply for grants from the Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) program. RRPD helps expand access to care in rural areas by providing funds for new rural residency programs in qualifying medical specialties1 that will have sustainable funding through Medicare, Medicaid, or other sources. Interested organizations must apply by April 10, 2025.
What Programs Qualify for the RRPD Program?
Eligible applicants include public and private higher education institutions, rural hospitals and community-based patient care centers, and Native American tribal governments and organizations in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
The grants are available to applicants seeking first-time accreditation for a new program, as well as those applying for a permanent complement increase for additional residents at new rural training sites as part of a rural track program (RTP).
According to the call for applications, qualifying rural residency programs must meet the following criteria:
- Are accredited physician residency programs.
- Train residents in sites physically located in a rural area as defined by FORHP for more than 50% of their total time in residency.
- Focus on producing physicians who will practice in rural communities.
How to Learn More & Apply
Applications for the RRPD program can be submitted here. The Health Resources & Services Administration will award up to $750,000 to 15 grantees. Grants will be made for the program’s three-year performance period spanning August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2028. Awardees will be required to develop a plan to track and publicly report on resident career outcomes after graduation for at least five years after the first graduating class to assess retention in rural communities.
How Forvis Mazars Can Help
Our team works with a wide range of providers to support strategic reimbursement through graduate medical education programs, including rural residency programs and RTPs. Our services include system assessments, operational assessments, and implementation assistance. If you have questions about starting a new rural residency program or your organization’s eligibility for an RRPD grant, please reach out to our healthcare professionals at Forvis Mazars.
- 1Family medicine, internal medicine, preventive medicine, psychiatry, general surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology.