Valued Voice

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced a competitive rural health care workforce grant opportunity funded by the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) this week. Awards ranging from $500,000 to $10 million over four years are available to regional workforce development partners to design and implement innovative strategies to tackle their region’s most pressing health care challenges.

In total, DWD will award up to $150 million in grants through 2030 to non-profit organizations and governmental entities located in and serving all counties in Wisconsin except Milwaukee County. Almost $5 million will be available in the first year.

Some eligible uses of the rural health care workforce funds include recruiting and retaining clinical workforce talent in rural areas with at least a five-year commitment, providing training and technical assistance to develop and adopt technology-enabled solutions that improve care delivery in rural hospitals, investing in existing rural health care facility buildings and infrastructure, and assisting rural communities to “right size” their health care systems by identifying needed services lines, according to DWD’s grant program announcement.

According to DWD, grant funds could also be used to support partnerships between health care facilities and other sectors to strengthen rural workforce pathways. Examples cited in Wisconsin’s RHTP application include a potential collaboration between a hospital in central Wisconsin and a regional UW University to support certified registered nurse anesthetists, or a collaboration between a hospital in southern Wisconsin and a nearby private college to build the nursing workforce.

The deadline to submit applications for Year 1 of the grant, including project plans for all four years, is 3:00 PM Central Time on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026.  To receive funding in future years, applicants must submit a new application each year, subject to a DWD review of performance on project goals.

Contact WHA Senior Vice President Workforce and Clinical Practice Ann Zenk with questions about the DWD workforce grants or any other workforce issue.