JONESBORO, Ark.—St. Bernards Foundation announced Thursday that it has received two grants totaling $4.8 million through the state of Arkansas' Rural Health Transformation Program. The funding aims to strengthen rural healthcare systems and bolster workforce recruitment.
The larger of the two grants, known as RISE AR (Recruitment Innovation Skills and Education for Arkansas), provides $3.85 million. St. Bernards plans to use these funds to train physicians and clinicians locally while offering added incentives to attract and retain healthcare professionals across the region.
The second grant, named HEART (Healthy Eating, Active Recreation, and Transformation), allocates $948,000 toward promoting wellness initiatives in rural communities. These efforts will focus on nutrition, physical activity, and chronic disease management through community-driven and collaborative approaches.
Josh Conlee, senior vice president of Strategic Services for St. Bernards Healthcare, emphasized the importance of these grants in addressing the unique healthcare challenges faced by rural communities. “We extend our sincerest gratitude to Governor Sarah Sanders and her team for prioritizing rural health care, because those priorities align with our rich history of providing health care services where they did not exist,” Conlee said. “Every community faces its own unique challenges across our region. These new rural health grants allow us to take that commitment a step further. We’re directly targeting local care shortages, promoting healthy living, and, most importantly, bridging critical gaps.”
The Rural Health Transformation Program, a state initiative, is designed to address disparities and ensure that Arkansans in underserved communities have greater access to quality healthcare services.