What North Carolina’s RHTP Looks Like

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) was awarded $213 million for Year 1 of the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, with the state eligible for additional annual funding through 2031, a total that could exceed $1 billion over five years. North Carolina developed its plan with input from more than 420 stakeholders, including rural hospitals, community health centers, and local health departments, and the program is expected to support more than 400 rural health facilities and nearly 3 million rural North Carolinians.

Implementation is being organized through NC ROOTS Hubs (Rural Organizations Orchestrating Transformation for Sustainability), regional, locally governed networks that coordinate services and lead implementation of the state’s RHTP initiatives. NCDHHS selected its ROOTS Hub Leads earlier this year, and these regional hubs will play an ongoing role in how funding decisions and technical assistance reach individual providers.

The Opportunity to Watch: The Rural Health Innovation Fund

North Carolina’s plan includes six initiatives, and Initiative Six Digital Health, focuses on the Rural Health Innovation Fund (RHIF). NCDHHS describes RHIF as a “kickstart investment to help rural health care providers modernize operations and health IT infrastructure,” enabling providers to access funding to assess existing data systems and identify technology needs.

Eligible investment categories named so far include telehealth expansion, AI-enabled clinical decision support, electronic health record upgrades, cybersecurity enhancements, and more, per NCDHHS’s own description.  RHIF’s stated purpose is broad technology and health IT modernization, not a narrow list limited to EHR software. A connected, automated system like AccuVax or AccuShelf, which combines physical storage with real-time data logging, automated compliance documentation, and cloud-based reporting could within the kind of health IT infrastructure modernization RHIF is designed to support.

Alongside RHIF, NCDHHS is standing up the NC Rural Digital Health Collaborative (NCRDHC), which includes a Rural Community of Practice for shared learning and a Rural Technical Assistance Center offering hands-on implementation support.

Important Timing: Applications Open in September 2026

RHIF funding will be available through a competitive application process beginning in September 2026, posted on NCDHHS’s Rural Health Transformation Program Grant Opportunities webpage.

How to Position Now

1. Sign up for the NC RHTP newsletter and monitor the Rural Health Transformation Program Grant Opportunities webpage so you’re ready the moment RHIF applications open in September.
2. Engage your regional NC ROOTS Hub Lead. As the entities coordinating implementation locally, they’re likely to have early visibility into RHIF application details and priorities specific to your region.
3. Connect with the NC Rural Digital Health Collaborative for guidance on how to frame a technology modernization request that aligns with RHIF’s goals.
4. Confirm classification directly with NCDHHS before finalizing your application. Since vaccine storage and inventory automation isn’t yet named among RHIF’s published example categories, it’s worth getting explicit confirmation that a project like AccuVax or AccuShelf fits the “health IT infrastructure modernization” framing before you build a budget around it.
5. Document your current gap now. Have your center’s vaccine storage compliance burden, manual monitoring limitations, or waste history ready to describe; RHIF’s stated purpose includes helping providers “assess existing data systems and identify technology needs,” so a documented current-state gap analysis will strengthen your case.

How TruMed Can Help

As North Carolina’s RHIF application window approaches, TruMed can provide the product documentation and technical detail your team needs to build a strong case for AccuVax or AccuShelf as a health IT infrastructure investment.

North Carolina has built a technology-focused funding vehicle that’s broader and more flexible than many other states’ current offerings. Organizations that engage their ROOTS Hub Lead, confirm eligibility with NCDHHS, and prepare their documentation now will be in the strongest position when applications open in September.

Getting ready for North Carolina’s Rural Health Innovation Fund? Reach out to TruMed Systems — we can help you build the documentation your application will need.