April 9, 2025

Learn

Health Profession Scholarships & Loan Assistance Program Webinar

April 25, 2025 12-1 p.m.-- the last one for spring 2025!

Register here

View slides shared at previous 2025 sessions.

Rural Health Stabilization Program

Applications accepted on rolling basis

Administered by National Rural Health Resource Center

Assistance to rural hospitals, at no cost to them, to help improve financial stability by enhancing or expanding health care services that meet community needs.

Grow the Rural Obstetrical Workforce in Wisconsin (GROW-WI)

Starts April 22, 2025, and then held the fourth Tuesday of each month from 7:30-8:30 a.m.

The first topic is Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy.

Register to participate.

Virtual Conversation: Youth Vaping & Environmental Health Impacts

April 29, 2025, 12-2 p.m.

Hosted by the American Heart Association

View webinar flyer

Fund

Walmart Spark Good Local Grants

Applications due April 15, 2025

Up to $5,000 awarded to eligible local organizations to directly benefit their community.

Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program

Due: April 17, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. ET

Loan repayment funds to RNs and APRNs working in an eligible critical shortage facility or as faculty at an eligible school of nursing

Learn more about how to apply

National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program

Due: May 1, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. ET

Three loan repayment programs with increased funding for eligible clinicians, including an increase of 50 percent in the two-year award amount to $75,000 for full-time primary care participants

Compare programs and learn more about eligibility, site types, and service commitment.

National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholarship Program

Applications due May 8, 2025

Scholarships for students pursuing eligible primary care health professions training who commit to providing primary care health services in a Health Professional Shortage Area for two to four years.

Please contact Kevin Jacobson, WORH Loan Assistance Program Manager, for help identifying grant opportunities to support your important work.

Celebrate

Powerful learning in support of early-career nurses

On lateral violence, time and stress management

Samantha Peck and Megan Polster of WORH attended one day-long class of the 12-session Nurse Residency Program on March 26, 2025, at the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC) in Sauk City. The class was led by Erin Smital and Ronda Pennekamp, experienced nurses who also work with RWHC. Funded by the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program, the residency supports early-career nurses in rural hospitals to increase retention and build capacity in areas specific to nursing.

"Retention has been identified as a significant problem for rural hospitals, and this program gives new nurses a supportive environment to navigate the challenges that often cause providers to leave the healthcare workforce. Attending gives us an opportunity to have direct contact with frontline workers when most of our input typically comes from administration."

Samantha Peck

WORH Rural Hospitals and Clinics Program Manager

Ronda Pennekamp teaches a course on stress management on March 26 as part of the RWHC Nurse Residency Program.

Reference

Hospital Price Transparency Fact Sheet

Published by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

NIH Study: Social Factors Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health for Rural Adults

2024 National CAH Quality Inventory and Assessment

MBQIP Measures State Report -- 2024

Megan Polster will send individual hospital reports directly to hospital staff. 

Resources to Improve Rural Health in the Midwest, April 2025

Published by the American Heart Association

Looking for past issues of Rural Health Radar? Perhaps you saw something important, and need a reminder of the registration or application deadline? We've got your back. See past issues on our web site near the newsletter sign-up section.