Governor Bob Ferguson has announced that Washington has received $181 million from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program for fiscal year 2026.
The program invests $50 billion nationwide to support rural hospital infrastructure, with an emphasis on technology improvements and support for chronic disease management, behavioral health care, maternal health care, addressing rural workforce shortages and improving access to emergency services.
Washington submitted its proposal for a share of the funding in November. Of Washington’s 39 counties, 22 are considered fully rural, while the remaining counties all have some rural portions, as well. Washington has more than 1 million rural residents.
The funding award is close to the requested amount, which was $200 million. Washington will now decide how to allocate the funding.
