Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program Grants

Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) grants provide support to small rural hospitals with implementation of delivery system changes. Funds will benefit small rural hospitals and help ensure that they have a strong foundation to provide quality health care to their community.

Grant award is made available to California State Office of Rural Health (CalSORH) through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Office of Rural Health Policy. Federal authorization for the SHIP program is found in Section 1820 (8) (3) of the Social Security Act and the Labor HHS Appropriations Act of 2002 (PUBL 107-116).

Grant funds are awarded to small rural hospitals to assist with: 1) improving data collection to facilitate quality reporting and improvement; 2) developing or supporting the basic tenants of Accountable Care Organizations or shared savings; and/or 3) improving hospital financial processes.

To qualify for SHIP Grants, applicant hospitals are required to be small non-Federal, short-term, general acute care facilities with 49 or fewer beds, and must be located in a rural area. Successful applicants will receive funding for one year and renewal is contingent upon satisfactory applicant performance. Amounts awarded are dependent upon the availability of federal appropriated funds. 

Interested applicants must submit an application to the CalSORH and the hospital’s Medicare Cost Report Worksheet S-3 (PPS Hospitals only). CalSORH will then submit a single grant application to HRSA.

Application Dates#

• Opens December 9, 2024
• Closes January 24, 2025

Webinar#

Resources#

• 2025-26 Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) Grant Guide
• SHIP Investment Resources – National Rural Health Resource Center

Contact Us#

• Email: SHIP@hcai.ca.gov
• Phone: (916) 326-3700

Subscribe#

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