Georgia

Georgia is receiving approximately $218.8 million in Year-1 funding (the state cites $218.9M) under the federal $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, branded GREAT Health (Georgia Rural Enhancement And Transformation of Health). Year 1 is the first tranche of a proposed $1.428 billion five-year plan spanning 29 projects across 126 rural counties; only the Year-1 slice is presently obligated. The award is structured by CMS as an annual award across a five-year performance period.

The program is administered by the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) under the GREAT Health banner, with Director of Provider Services James Peoples among the named leads. DCH has hired RSM as its grants management vendor, running the applicant portal and a live technical-assistance inbox (greatgrant@rsmus.com). Program contact: GREATHealth@dch.ga.gov.

GREAT Health is organized around five initiatives DCH proposed to CMS: a sustainable health system, continuum of care, access, workforce, and information technology. The program is already in active deployment — running multiple competitive rounds concurrently, each with its own Notice of Funding Opportunity per initiative and applicant tier — with a clear tilt toward stabilizing rural hospitals and building workforce and technology capacity.

Georgia has been writing checks fast. Committed RHT dollars reached about $43.3 million by late July, with a $30.6M Phase 2 to 26 organizations:

• Workforce — $12.5M (GME expansion, nursing pathways, dementia-care training via the University System of Georgia, the GA Board of Health Care Workforce, and the Alzheimer's Association).
• Technology — $7M (hospital cybersecurity via Augusta University's Georgia Cyber Center; an EMS "Treat-versus-Transport" telehealth model).
• Connecting to Care / Rural Stabilization Grants — $6.5M to 17 rural hospitals.
• Point-of-Care Telepods — ~$4.3M across eight awards, scaling in units of $356,465 per telepod deployment.

The full breakdown across 29 projects is in Georgia's budget narrative and searchable application overview.

Georgia is running four competitive grant rounds concurrently, each with its own NOFO. Named solicitations include Care to Consumer: Telepods ($356,465 per award, up to 20 awards; open May 15–June 15), Telehealth Enhancements and Workforce Retention Technology (Surgical Robots) (Round 4, June 15–July 15), and hospital Rural Stabilization Grants. On July 24 DCH posted its Notice of Intent to Award for Initiative 3: Connecting to Care — Point-of-Care Telepods, naming eight awards totaling about $4.3M (an intent to award, not a final commitment; no protest deadline was printed). The dispatch list below carries the running record.

Georgia's rounds have run on tight, sequential windows: Care to Consumer: Telepods (May 15–June 15), and Round 4 Telehealth Enhancements and Workforce Retention Technology (June 15–July 15, 2026). Because GREAT Health runs multiple rounds concurrently on a rolling basis, live application windows and technical-assistance webinars surface first in the dated dispatches below and on the funding opportunities page.

The Rural Health Transformation Program was created by Section 71401 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (2025) and is administered federally by CMS. Georgia administers its award through the Department of Community Health under its CMS-approved GREAT Health project and budget narratives, with RSM engaged as the named grants management vendor.

Eligibility runs on two tracks. Direct-to-state contracts go out competitively (RSM runs DCH's grants management), where firms bid as prime contractors. Subgrants and subawards flow to rural providers — hospitals (including critical access hospitals), health systems, EMS agencies, academic and workforce partners, and community organizations — through the per-initiative NOFOs, and it is here that technology vendors and consultants most often engage as subcontractors or implementation partners rather than direct grantees. Because Georgia runs concurrent rounds each with its own NOFO and applicant tier, review the searchable application overview to identify which initiative fits, and use RSM's live TA inbox (greatgrant@rsmus.com) for application questions.

Apply through the GREAT Health grants portal and track opportunities on the funding opportunities page and the program hub.