Rural Health Link - Establish Regional Hubs & Mobility Coordinators Grant Program

The West Virginia Department of Health, through the State's Rural Health Transformation Program and its Rural Health Link initiative, is offering funding to establish regional hubs and mobility coordination functions that improve access to healthcare for rural residents throughout West Virginia. The broader Rural Health Transformation Program is supported by an initial Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services financial assistance award of $199,476,098.72, with 100 percent of that award funded by CMS and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Rural Health Link is one of seven statewide RHTP initiatives and is intended to address transportation gaps, fragmented dispatch processes, inconsistent care navigation, and other barriers that prevent rural residents from obtaining timely healthcare. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to select one or more grantees to design, implement, and operate an integrated regional access coordination model. Supported work includes establishing or expanding regional hubs, developing standardized dispatcher workflows and training, deploying mobility coordinators and contract managers, coordinating transportation and care navigation, managing transportation vendors, establishing escalation and issue-resolution procedures, developing partnerships, and implementing data-driven performance management. Grantees must be prepared to use or integrate with the State-approved Rural Health Link mobility platform when it becomes operational and must support integration of relevant data with the State's Connected Care Grid Data Spine or an approved interim data submission method. The program emphasizes measurable improvements in access, appointment completion, coordination, transportation reliability, and long-term sustainability. Up to $7.1 million is available through a shared funding pool supporting this AFA and another solicitation, so applicants should not assume that the full $7.1 million will be awarded through this opportunity. Funding is for one year and is released according to State-approved milestones. The milestone structure provides up to 15 percent for approved initial start-up requirements, 20 percent for Milestone 1, 30 percent for Milestone 2, 25 percent for Milestone 3, and 10 percent for Milestone 4. An initial advance is available for allowable one-time start-up costs, while subsequent payments are reimbursement-based and contingent on verified milestone achievement. Administrative costs, including combined direct administrative and indirect costs, may not exceed 10 percent of the total subaward amount per budget period. Funding may not supplant existing activities or staffing, duplicate reimbursable services, pay pre-award costs, fund prohibited construction, or otherwise pay costs that are the responsibility of another payer or funding source. Private match may be provided but is not required. Eligible applicants are public or private entities with demonstrated experience operating regional or statewide coordination programs involving healthcare access, transportation coordination, dispatch operations, or care navigation for rural or underserved populations. Examples include nonprofit organizations, governmental or quasi-governmental entities, health systems, and other organizations capable of supporting the required operations and integrations. The geographic scope encompasses all counties in West Virginia. Applicants must demonstrate operational readiness, scalable and outcome-driven capacity, appropriate partnerships, data and technology integration capabilities, and a credible strategy for financial and operational sustainability beyond the initial RHTP funding period. Federal awards require a Unique Entity Identifier, and grantees must maintain active registration with the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office. Applications must be submitted through the WVOASIS Vendor Self-Serve Portal. Required application materials include an application narrative addressing organizational capacity, experience and readiness; project impact on outcomes; feasibility and implementation; and long-term sustainability. Applicants must also provide resumes of key program members, a detailed task- and outcomes-oriented GANTT chart through September 2027, a Detailed Line-Item Budget, a Budget Narrative-Justification, applicable Target Funding Budgets in Excel, a Grantee Contact List containing at least two contacts covering applicable administrative, financial, program and reporting functions, and a County-Level Service Form listing counties to be served and estimated population served. Applications are evaluated on Organizational Capacity, Experience, and Readiness at 25 percent; Impact of the Project on Health Outcomes at 20 percent; Feasibility and Implementation Plan at 20 percent; Long-Term Project Sustainability at 20 percent; and Budget at 15 percent. An application must score at least 80 percent to be funded, although final award decisions also remain subject to the State's programmatic goals and strategic priorities. The opportunity was released August 24, 2026, and applications are due September 8, 2026, at 11:59 PM EDT. Applicant questions are due within three business days after posting, corresponding to August 27, 2026, and relevant responses will be made public through Oasis. Technical assistance requests should be submitted in writing to gwyndolyn.m.mcgee@wv.gov with AFA RHT-AFA-08-24-2026-RHL ERH in the subject line. The WVOASIS opportunity also identifies Rural Health Transformation Program coordinator contact information at mike.sheets@wv.gov and 681-542-4971. No recurring application cycle or award-notification date is stated. The funding period extends through September 30, 2027, although the AFA separately requires successful applicants to fully expend awarded funds and submit invoices to the State by July 31, 2027. Monthly, quarterly, annual, financial, operational, and performance reporting requirements apply during implementation.

Structure the narrative directly around the weighted evaluation criteria and target at least the required 80% score. Demonstrate operational readiness and ability to launch regional hubs quickly. Present measurable access and coordination outcomes rather than activity alone. Show readiness to use or integrate with the State-approved mobility platform and State data systems. Clearly distinguish new or materially expanded services from existing operations to avoid supplanting. Provide a credible financial sustainability pathway independent of RHTP funding within 24-36 months. Keep administrative plus indirect costs within the 10% cap. Avoid purely academic pilots, consulting-heavy models without operational deployment, and consumer engagement models without measurable outcome linkage.