For college presidents, school leaders, and workforce partners
Every new service in a rural hospital's plan needs people to deliver it. Illinois's Rural Health Transformation Program puts workforce funding into community colleges, the University of Illinois, and high school partnerships so those people come from the community they serve. 618Today helps colleges, schools, and health employers across Southern Illinois and the Metro East build that pipeline together.
Workforce funding at a glance
The programs
The Illinois Community College Board's program for clinical and allied health. It funds expanded high-need programs, more instructional and clinical capacity, wraparound student supports, workforce partnerships, and delivery models that work around rural barriers. Colleges also take part in statewide collaborative work.
The Board's program for healthcare support workers, with a focus on maternal care and substance use. It funds the same kinds of expansion and student support, built on workforce partnerships and partnerships with high schools.
Educational award programs, bonuses to relocate to or stay in rural communities, fellowships, and apprenticeships for physicians, advanced practitioners, and allied professionals, with possible focus on maternal health, behavioral health, primary care, and paramedicine.
Training for community health workers, doulas, lactation consultants, and peer support professionals (3986), and a pipeline that brings students into rural health careers through the Area Health Education Center (3987). ICAHN's share of 3985 funds educational awards for its member hospitals.
REACH and ROOTS are non-competitive, formula-based awards to Illinois community colleges. The first-round deadline was September 18, 2026. Years 2 through 5 depend on continued federal funding.
New services, new skills
Virtual care funding (3984) and hospital Transformation Plans are bringing telehealth and remote patient monitoring to rural communities. Devices and software are the easy part. Each new service creates work that local people can be trained to do.
Schedule visits, prepare the patient and the room, run the equipment, and assist the remote clinician with the exam.
Set up home devices, watch the readings, escalate the ones that need a nurse or physician, and keep patients connected.
Help patients and families use patient portals, video visits, and home devices, especially older adults and people with limited internet.
Connect monitoring results and telehealth visits to follow-up care, transportation, and social services.
Paramedics trained for home visits and treat in place, linking EMS to primary care.
Keep connected devices, networks, and records secure and working in small hospitals and clinics.
Community, school, healthcare
The workforce grants only pay off when the three work as a loop: students come from the community, schools train them, health employers hire them, and the community gets the care.
Families, community organizations, and the local health department identify the needs and the people ready to train.
Career exploration, dual credit, and pathways into health careers, supported by ROOTS partnerships and the education pipeline (3987).
Clinical, allied health, and support-worker programs through REACH and ROOTS, and university awards and fellowships (3985, 3986).
Hospitals, clinics, EMS, and community care teams provide clinical sites, preceptors, and jobs, and hire graduates into the services their plans add (3979, 3980, 3984).
Graduates stay to work, supported by relocation and retention awards (3985), and the community gets care close to home.
Questions college presidents and school leaders ask
The Illinois Community College Board distributes REACH and ROOTS funding to community colleges on a formula basis. Check with your grants office whether your college applied for the first round, which closed September 18, 2026, and what it committed to.
Clinical rotation and externship sites, preceptors, a voice in which programs to expand, and hiring commitments for graduates. A workforce partnership the hospital can name in its Transformation Plan helps both of you.
ROOTS is built on partnerships with high schools, and the Area Health Education Center pipeline (3987) brings students into health careers. Dual credit and career pathways connect students to college programs early.
The ones your local health employers need for the services they are adding: nursing and allied health, maternal and behavioral health, paramedicine, and support workers such as community health workers, doulas, and peer support. Telehealth and remote monitoring are creating new roles as well.
Years 2 through 5 depend on Illinois's progress. Build programs with partners and enrollment that can continue without the grant, and keep the records that show results.
How 618Today helps
Which roles local employers need in the next three years, matched to the programs that can supply them.
Clinical site, preceptor, and hiring commitments between colleges, schools, and health employers, ready to cite in a Transformation Plan.
Reporting and outcomes that line up across REACH, ROOTS, and the hospital's grants. How we steward RHTP grants
618Today Inc. is an independent advisory firm. It does not act for Illinois HFS, the Illinois Community College Board, CMS, or ICAHN. Sources: Illinois GATA CSFA program listings for 3985, 3986, 3987, 4097, and 4098. Compiled by 618Today, October 2026.