Nevada making largest-ever investment in rural healthcare

When I talk with Nevadans across our rural counties, I hear a common concern: access to healthcare shouldn’t depend on your zip code. A rancher in White Pine County deserves the same quality of care as a family in Summerlin.

That’s why I’m proud that the Nevada Health Authority is putting unprecedented resources behind rural healthcare — including nearly $150 million in Rural Health Transformation Program awards to date, supporting 158 projects across 17 counties. These investments are made possible through a five-year federal initiative that provided Nevada $180 million in its first year, and we are making sure those dollars reach the communities that need them most.

Ensuring Nevada has a strong healthcare workforce has been central to my work as governor, because access to quality care depends on the people who provide it.

You can build a clinic anywhere, but a clinic without doctors, nurses, and paramedics cannot address the critical and immediate medical needs Nevadans depend on. These grants put people first: they expand access to care, grow the provider pipeline, and support the hospitals and clinics that rural and Tribal communities rely on every day.

These investments target three areas where rural Nevada needs them most.

First, we’re training the next generation of rural physicians right here at home. Nearly $5 million will expand rural medical residencies, including a new rural family medicine residency track in Fallon and a first-of-its-kind rural obstetrics fellowship to bring more providers capable of delivering babies to communities that have gone without. A new fellowship will also allow nurses already practicing in rural Nevada to earn dual certification in primary care and behavioral health, because the fastest way to grow our workforce is to invest in the dedicated professionals already serving our communities. And a new statewide Rural Graduate Medical Education Consortium will help rural hospitals build residency programs of their own for years to come.

Second, we’re recruiting and retaining providers where they’re needed most. More than $32 million will bring primary care, pediatric, behavioral health, OB/GYN, orthopedic, and family medicine providers to communities including Mesquite, Pahrump, Elko, Tonopah, Fallon, Incline Village, and Tribal reservations. These awards also expand dental services, strengthen Tribal dental care, increase behavioral health capacity, and support EMS leadership and statewide specialty tele-mentoring so rural providers are never practicing alone.

Third, we’re building long-term pipelines so rural Nevada can grow its own workforce. Over $14 million will modernize rural clinical training: expanding simulation centers, launching rural nursing apprenticeships, advancing EMTs to paramedics, establishing a new Medical Laboratory Scientist program, and creating training pathways in geriatrics, imaging, social work, dental assisting, behavioral health, public health, and early childhood education. We’re even reaching into K–12 classrooms, so a student in Eureka or Owyhee can see a clear path from their hometown school to a healthcare career serving their hometown.

And this work goes beyond simply putting more providers in rural communities. The latest round of RHTP awards includes practical, innovative solutions that can make a difference in people’s daily lives — from mobile care pods and expanded tele-behavioral health services to home-visit chronic disease care, maternal health case management, community health worker training, and early childhood developmental and behavioral health services.

Together, these investments will expand access to care, reduce wait times, strengthen early detection and intervention, and support healthier outcomes for Nevadans in some of the state’s most remote communities.

No one knows more about the demand for this critical funding than the people who call these communities their home. Rural providers and hospitals requested nearly $42 million for recruitment and retention alone, a sign that our rural healthcare leaders are ready to build and they simply need a partner in Carson City willing to deliver. My administration is that partner.

As governor, rural Nevada isn’t an afterthought in this state, it’s the backbone of it. The mines, farms, ranches, and small businesses of our rural counties power our economy, and the families who live there deserve healthcare that’s close to home, high quality, and affordable. That’s my commitment as governor, and these investments are proof we’re keeping that promise.

The work isn’t finished. But with these awards, we’re not just filling vacancies — we’re building a rural healthcare workforce that’s grown in Nevada, trained in Nevada, and here to stay.

Joe Lombardo is the governor of Nevada.