Mississippi announces $81.7 million in rural health grants
Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday that $81.7 million is available to organizations serving rural Mississippians through three grant opportunities, the first phase of funds from a nearly $206 million federal pool. Reeves made the announcement at a news conference and said details about grant requirements will be released later.
Reeves said the funding comes from a federal program he described as part of a $50 billion initiative created through the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” He said the state received applications from 236 organizations requesting more than $676 million after applications opened July 15.
Reeves said the state held five community outreach meetings, hosted application-specific webinars that reached more than 1,000 stakeholders and sent more than 33,700 emails to providers and community organizations. “The need is greater than the funding available in this first round,” Reeves said. “That’s exactly why getting these decisions right matters.”
As part of the rural health plan, Reeves said the state has launched a workforce expansion initiative led by Accelerate Mississippi to recruit and retain health professionals in rural areas and that the Mississippi State Department of Health has issued a request for proposals to design a statewide Health Information Exchange. He also said the state will pilot remote patient monitoring to help manage chronic disease for patients who live far from specialty care.
Reeves said the department has begun a request for proposals for a comprehensive statewide emergency medical services assessment and plans to expand psychiatric emergency services using the EmPATH model. The Mississippi Department of Mental Health is expanding crisis diversion centers and will broaden access to evidence-based training programs, Reeves said. He added the State Department of Health and the Department of Mental Health will partner on efforts to address obesity using principles of the Trump-promoted “Making America Healthy Again” initiative.
Reeves cited state public health rankings to underscore the need for expanded services. He said a 2024 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found about 40.4% of Mississippians were considered obese, and a 2025 state public health report card ranked Mississippi 50th in infant mortality and 49th in maternal mortality. To address obstetric access, Reeves said the state is launching a pilot to deploy fully staffed mobile clinics into communities with limited prenatal and obstetric care. He said the plan also includes measures to improve access for veterans and first responders and reiterated the goal of expanding reliable access to quality care across rural Mississippi by 2031.
Source: Original Article
