U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) and U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) recently introduced legislation to create two new federal grant programs to expand walk-in urgent care, triage, and emergency stabilization services at existing community health centers, rural healthcare clinics, and local health departments.
The grant programs authorized in the Rural Health Innovation Act (S.4204) are designed to help rural areas address challenges such as workforce shortages and long travel times for emergency care and would strengthen support for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs).