Transforming rural healthcare delivery
Right-size hospital services, build regional partnerships, and move toward value-based care.
CSFA 3950 · 3979 · 3980 · 3981
Illinois RHTP
How Illinois's ten RHTP grants work together.
Illinois runs the Rural Health Transformation Program as ten separate grants, each with its own administrator, terms, and reporting. In a rural county they land on the same hospital, the same community college, the same EMS system, and the same families. 618Today helps communities across Southern Illinois and the Metro East plan and steward them as one program instead of ten.
The Illinois portfolio at a glance
One federal award, ten state grants
$193.4MIllinois's Year 1 RHTP award from CMS (December 2025)
10grants funded from eight state initiatives
$186.2MYear 1 value of the ten grants combined
1grant a hospital applies for directly; the rest arrive through a partner
Years 2 through 5 are not guaranteed. CMS renews each state every year based on its progress, so what every grant recipient reports this year becomes part of Illinois's case for the next. That is the reason to treat the ten grants as one program: they succeed or fail together.
Three pillars
Every dollar sits under one of three goals
Overcoming geographic barriers to care
Bring care into the community through telehealth, mobile units, and stronger EMS.
CSFA 3982 · 3983 · 3984
Building a resilient rural workforce
Scholarships, training, and career pipelines through universities and community colleges.
CSFA 3985 · 3986 · 3987
The ten grants
What each grant funds, who runs it, and how it reaches a community
| CSFA 478-00- | Grant | What it funds | Administered by | Year 1 | Route to the community |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3950 | Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives | Regional collaboratives that redesign care across providers | Four named regional collaboratives | $8.0M | Through a partner |
| 3979 | Hospital Transformation (Planning) | Each hospital's Transformation Plan and the regional partnership behind it | HFS, direct to hospitals | $28.2M | Direct: the hospital is the grantee |
| 3980 | Community Care Infrastructure | Team-based care, community health workers, peer support, and doulas | IPHCA and CBHA | $26.0M | Through a partner |
| 3981 | Hospital Disease Prevention | Chronic disease prevention run with the local health department | ICAHN | $14.0M | Sub-award to hospitals |
| 3982 | EMS Enhancement to Resource Hospitals | Treat-in-place, EMS training and staffing, EMT and paramedic apprenticeships | IDPH, through Resource Hospitals | $16.5M | Through the EMS system |
| 3983 | Mobile Healthcare Innovation | Mobile primary care clinics and mobile crisis units | IPHCA and CBHA | $18.0M | Through a partner |
| 3984 | Technological Innovation for Virtual Care | Telehealth, EHR modernization, interoperability, and e-consults | ICAHN | $31.0M | Sub-award or shared platform |
| 3985 | Healthcare Workforce Expansion | Educational awards, fellowships, relocation and retention, and college programs | University of Illinois ($14M), ICCB ($10M), ICAHN ($5M) | $29.0M | Sub-award and community college programs |
| 3986 | Training Healthcare Support Workers | Community health workers, doulas, lactation consultants, and peer support professionals | ICCB ($8M) and UI College of Medicine Rockford, National Center for Rural Health Professions ($3M) | $11.0M | Through training programs |
| 3987 | Rural Health Education Pipeline | A student pipeline into rural health careers | UI College of Medicine Rockford, Area Health Education Center | $4.5M | Through the education pipeline |
| Total | $186.2M |
Year 1 values as listed by the State for the first federal budget period. CSFA is the Catalog of State Financial Assistance number HFS assigns each grant. Only 3979 was a competitive application by hospitals; the other nine were awarded to named organizations.
How the money moves
CMS and HFS set direction, the administrators build the bridge, and the community delivers
Direction
CMS holds a cooperative agreement with Illinois and renews it each year on progress. HFS leads for the State, writes the grant terms, and convenes the RHTP Advisory Committee.
The bridge
ICAHN, IDPH, IPHCA and CBHA, the University of Illinois, and the Illinois Community College Board turn each grant into programs, sub-awards, and training seats. Four regional collaboratives run 3950.
Delivery
Hospitals, local health departments, clinics and behavioral health providers, community colleges, EMS systems, and community organizations do the work. Their quarterly reports flow back up and become the State's renewal case.
Who each grant reaches
RHTP is not only a hospital program
Rural hospitals
The only direct grant (3979) pays for each hospital's Transformation Plan. Prevention (3981), virtual care (3984), and workforce (3985) arrive as ICAHN sub-awards.
Community colleges
The Illinois Community College Board's share of 3985 and 3986 funds college programs and support-worker training. Its REACH and ROOTS programs are built around workforce partnerships, and the local hospital is a natural partner.
EMS and Resource Hospitals
IDPH passes 3982 to Resource Hospitals for treat-in-place, training, and EMT and paramedic apprenticeships. Treat-in-place changes transfers and bed days, so it belongs in the hospital's plan.
Community health centers and behavioral health
IPHCA and CBHA run community care teams (3980) and mobile clinics and crisis units (3983). They are the clinical front door before an emergency room visit.
Local health departments
Disease prevention (3981) is run with the local health department, which also holds the population data a needs assessment and a Transformation Plan depend on.
Universities and the education pipeline
The University of Illinois funds clinician awards and fellowships (3985), and its Area Health Education Center builds the student pipeline (3987).
Where the grants meet
Five places one grant depends on another
Staffing
A Transformation Plan that adds services assumes people to deliver them. Those nurses, aides, community health workers, doulas, and peer support workers come out of 3985 and 3986, and many go to work on the community care teams 3980 funds.
Reach
EMS treat-in-place (3982) and mobile units (3983) decide which patients reach the hospital and when. A plan that ignores them miscounts its own volumes.
Technology
Virtual care funding (3984) carries the telehealth commitments in each plan, including the decision to join a shared platform or hold your own.
Prevention
Disease prevention (3981), community care (3980), and the local health department draw on the same community health needs, so they should share one picture of the county.
Evidence
Every grant reports, and together those reports are Illinois's case for Years 2 through 5. Consistent measures across grants make a community's progress visible instead of scattered.
Kitchen table to hospital
Care starts where people live
The planning grant asks each hospital to build a regional partnership with primary care, behavioral health, the local health department, and community organizations. In practice that is a referral chain, and every link is funded by a different RHTP grant.
Household
Where needs surface first: safety, housing, food, transportation, medications, and caregiving.
Community organization
The trusted first contact that screens and connects people to social services.
Local health department
Population data, prevention programs, and a referral hub.
Primary care and behavioral health
Clinics and mental health partners treat people before an emergency room visit is needed.
Hospital
Receives the right patient at the right time and closes the loop back to the community.
Grant stewardship
Stewarding ten grants as one program
Winning a grant is the start. Stewardship is what keeps the money, produces the results, and earns the next year. 618Today stewards RHTP funding across grants, not one award at a time.
One plan, several funding streams
Braid grants without charging the same cost twice and without replacing funding you already have, so each dollar is defensible in an audit.
One reporting calendar
Quarterly and progress reports, drawdowns, and GATA obligations for every award and sub-award, on one schedule with one set of measures.
Spend on time
Year 1 technology funds must be spent by September 30, 2027. We track obligations and spending so nothing lapses or has to be returned.
Partner agreements that hold up
Letters of support and agreements with colleges, EMS, health departments, and community organizations, drafted to respect EMTALA, Stark, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and HIPAA.
Evidence for renewal
Measures chosen so the results a community reports this year make Illinois's case for Years 2 through 5, and position each hospital for the implementation grants.
Independent
We sell no software and take no vendor commissions. We work for the organization that hires us.
Common questions
The ten grants, answered
How many Rural Health Transformation Program grants does Illinois have?
Ten. HFS funded eight state initiatives as ten grants, worth $186.2 million combined in Year 1, out of Illinois's $193.4 million federal award.
Which RHTP grant can an Illinois hospital apply for directly?
Only Hospital Transformation (Planning), CSFA 478-00-3979, which HFS awards directly to eligible hospitals. Disease prevention, virtual care, and workforce funding reach hospitals as ICAHN sub-awards, and the rest reach a community through partner organizations.
How do community colleges benefit from RHTP?
The Illinois Community College Board receives a share of Healthcare Workforce Expansion (3985) and Training Healthcare Support Workers (3986) to fund college programs and support-worker training. Its REACH and ROOTS programs are built around workforce partnerships, and the local hospital is a natural partner.
How does RHTP reach EMS?
IDPH passes EMS Enhancement funding (3982) to Resource Hospitals for treat-in-place, EMS training and staffing, and EMT and paramedic apprenticeships.
What is RHTP grant stewardship?
Managing RHTP awards after they are won: braiding funding streams without double charging, meeting reporting and GATA obligations, spending on time, keeping partner agreements compliant, and producing the evidence Illinois needs for renewal.
618Today Inc. is an independent advisory firm and a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). It does not act for Illinois HFS, CMS, or ICAHN. Sources: Illinois GATA CSFA program listings; Illinois HFS RHTP program narrative; CMS RHTP announcements. Compiled by 618Today, October 2026. Values and administrators are subject to change by HFS.