$1.25 Million in NCRHTP Funding Announced to Expand School-Based Health Centers in North Carolina
Today Governor Stein and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced $1.25 million in federal funding through the North Carolina Rural Health Transformation Program to expand preventive and acute health care, provide nutrition support, and address behavioral health needs. Five organizations will receive funding: the Appalachian District Health Department, Blue Ridge Community Health Services, First Health of the Carolinas, Mountain Community Health Partnership, and Wilson County Health Department.
“This investment will bring critical health care directly to students in rural North Carolina,” said Governor Josh Stein. “For many young people struggling with their mental health, having these resources at school can make all the difference.”
When mental health services are available at schools, nearly 20% of public school students use those services. Approximately 30,000 children and youth receive health care from about 90 school-based health centers in North Carolina. This investment will expand access in rural areas by providing services in new locations, utilizing telehealth and mobile units, and increasing capacity in current rural locations.
“As we work to build a coordinated system that increases access to care for everyone in North Carolina, it is critical we reach people where they are, and for children, that is in their schools,” said NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai. “This investment will remove barriers to care in rural communities, ensuring more children get resources and services they need.”
North Carolina’s Rural Health Transformation Program is a statewide initiative that is supported by more than $213 million in federal funding in Year 1 from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and is designed to address longstanding challenges in rural health care access and delivery. The program will support rural health facilities and bring hundreds of millions of dollars in federal investment to the state over the next five years. North Carolina has the second-largest rural population in the country, and NCDHHS is committed to advancing innovative strategies through investments and initiatives that support high-quality care for all North Carolinians.
This school-based health funding is a key part of the NC Rural Health Transformation Program’s behavioral health expansion initiative aimed at ensuring access to care is available for rural communities. NCDHHS is ensuring the awardees receive funding quickly as they work to increase or expand current school-based health centers, offer mobile care at rural schools, or increase the numbers of health care personnel responding to their communities’ mental health needs.
“School-based health centers provide vital access to comprehensive, coordinated, and preventive health care through direct services and programs or through referrals to other primary care providers,” said NCRHTP Director Maggie Woods. “We are grateful for our local, state, and federal partners who share in the commitment to ensure children can access the care they need and deserve in their communities.”
Each eligible applicant for this grant was required to have an active grant agreement with the NCDHHS Division of Child and Family Well-Being, provide a School Health Center Program, and serve in areas with limited access to local mental or physical health providers.
North Carolina is eager to maximize the funding awarded by the Rural Health Transformation Program, but the state will need to overcome significant funding losses as a result of federal reconciliation law H.R. 1, including the loss of nearly $50 billion in federal funds to North Carolina’s Medicaid program over the next 10 years and critical funding to hospitals in our state. NCDHHS will take advantage of the available funding while continuing to advocate for more funding for NC’s rural health care system in the future.
For more information on the North Carolina Rural Health Transformation Program, including ways to get involved, visit the NCDHHS NCRHTP webpage. You can also sign up to receive the NCRHTP Newsletter.
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Stevens Amendment Disclosure: This news release is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $213,008,356.47 with 100% funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS or the U.S. Government.
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