Rural Health Grants to Expand Doctor Training, Food Access Across NEA

JONESBORO, Ark. — New physician training programs in Blytheville and Jonesboro, expanded emergency medical education and efforts to connect rural families with healthy food are among the Northeast Arkansas projects included in a $54.6 million round of grants announced by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

The Rural Health Transformation Program awards include $4.4 million for Mississippi County Hospital System, nearly $4.8 million across two St. Bernards projects and about $5.1 million across two White River Health projects, according to the governor’s office.

The New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University, known as NYITCOM at A-State, also received two awards totaling about $3.74 million for a Blytheville family medicine residency and expanded emergency medical services education.

Training Doctors and Emergency Responders

Mississippi County Hospital System’s $4,402,000 award will support physician training, leadership development and employee recruitment and retention at its Blytheville and Osceola hospitals. Plans include renovating 12,040 square feet for a rural training site, supporting chief nursing officer certification and helping employees navigate student-loan and Public Service Loan Forgiveness assistance.

A separate $2,891,991 award to New York Institute of Technology will help NYITCOM at A-State establish a rural family medicine residency in Blytheville with Mississippi County Hospital System and St. Bernards. Residents would train in primary care, obstetrics, pediatrics, telemedicine and chronic disease management.

NYITCOM’s EMS Education Alliance will receive $847,760 to expand EMT and paramedic education through partnerships with four two-year colleges. The award lists Mississippi, Randolph, Hot Spring and Union counties. NYITCOM will provide curriculum and faculty support, while local colleges recruit and enroll students.

St. Bernards Development Foundation will receive $3,851,347 for its Rural Care Workforce Network serving Craighead, Cross, Lawrence and Randolph counties. Plans include a psychiatry residency, a family medicine emergency medicine fellowship, clinical simulation training, career advancement and support for physician recruitment and remote hospital physician coverage.

Another $536,294 will go to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences for a family medicine obstetrics fellowship based at St. Bernards Medical Center. The program plans to train two family physicians annually in comprehensive maternity care, with fellows starting in July 2027.

The fellowship’s service area includes Clay, Craighead, Cross, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph and Woodruff counties.

Healthy Food and Preventive Care

White River Health System will receive $2,942,715 for a food-as-medicine program serving Sharp, Stone, Jackson, Cleburne, Izard and Lawrence counties. The project will connect health screenings and produce prescriptions with cooking education, community health workers and regional food production and distribution.

The system will also receive $2,113,815.50 for 13 workforce projects focused on recruitment, training, retention and career development. The award lists Independence, Stone, Jackson and Sharp counties and includes work in behavioral health, nursing, laboratory science, spiritual care and physician services.

St. Bernards Development Foundation’s second award, $947,727, will support preventive education, screenings, help connecting patients with care, physical activity and healthy-aging services in Cross, Mississippi and Craighead counties. The project will work through schools, churches, community partners and wellness centers.

Heartland Whole Health Institute will receive $8.42 million for a broader project spanning 27 counties, including Craighead, Greene, Clay, Poinsett, Mississippi, Cross, Jackson and Sharp. Providers and pharmacists will coordinate telehealth, chronic disease management and preventive care. The award covers the full project, with no county-by-county funding breakdown provided.

Other Projects Serving the Region

Studio Drift will receive $1,139,200 for MOVE Delta, connecting three primary care providers, nine wellness hubs and 28 miles of activity routes in Cross and Woodruff counties. The project will link parks, sidewalks, trails and streets with referrals for physical activity.

The Produce Porch will receive $200,500 for a Woodruff County food-as-medicine initiative involving Arcare, the Woodruff County Food Bank and McCrory High School FFA.

Arkansas Baptist Children and Family Ministries will receive $394,343 for family wellness programming in Craighead and Boone counties. Arkansas Cancer Coalition’s $205,905 award will support breast, colorectal and lung cancer screening efforts in Crittenden, Lee and Pulaski counties.

Other awards include $1 million for a Baxter County wellness initiative through North Arkansas Rural Health Consortium and $461,201 for AFMC to establish wellness hubs at five White County faith organizations. Unity Health will receive $142,424 for workforce education serving White, Jackson, Pulaski, Cleburne and Lonoke counties, plus $158,502.15 to support gastroenterology training for a physician committed to return to Searcy.

Statewide awards will also support nursing education, behavioral health training, rural health leadership and Cooperative Extension wellness programs.

The latest round includes $27.4 million for nutrition, recreation and preventive health projects through the HEART initiative and $27.2 million for workforce development through RISE AR. The governor’s office said the awards complete this year’s distribution of approximately $208 million in federal rural health transformation funding.

Project descriptions are based on recipients’ applications. Grant details will not be final until the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration signs agreements with the recipients, according to the release.