West Virginia’s Mountain State Care Force Grants are a central part of the state’s broader Rural Health Transformation effort, focused on stabilizing and strengthening the healthcare workforce across rural and underserved communities. Administered through the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources in coordination with the Governor’s Office, the program is designed to address long-standing workforce shortages by investing directly in people, training pathways, and community-based solutions.
Like other Rural Health Transformation initiatives nationwide, Mountain State Care Force is not a short-term recruitment fix. It is a workforce strategy built around retention, training, and sustainability, especially in communities where access to care is most fragile.
What Is the Mountain State Care Force?
The Mountain State Care Force is West Virginia’s workforce-focused pillar within its Rural Health Transformation framework. The program recognizes that rural healthcare challenges in the state are driven less by temporary vacancies and more by structural issues: limited training pipelines, high burnout, aging workforces, and barriers to practicing in rural communities.
Rather than concentrating funding in a single grant type, the Care Force approach supports a range of initiatives that help:
- Build and expand healthcare training pipelines
- Support existing healthcare workers
- Improve recruitment and long-term retention
- Strengthen the systems that allow rural providers to operate sustainably
The goal is to ensure that West Virginians can access care locally, without relying solely on short-term staffing solutions.
Who the Grants Are For
Mountain State Care Force Grants are intended to support a broad set of partners involved in rural healthcare delivery and workforce development, including:
- Rural hospitals and clinics
- Community health centers
- Educational institutions and training programs
- Workforce development organizations
- Community and regional partners supporting healthcare delivery
Eligibility and award structure are designed to allow participation from organizations at different stages of readiness, recognizing that not every rural provider begins with the same capacity.
What Types of Projects Are Supported
While individual grant opportunities may vary, Mountain State Care Force funding is generally aligned around several core workforce priorities.
Strengthening Training Pipelines
A major emphasis of the program is expanding and strengthening pathways into healthcare careers. Supported activities may include:
- Training and education programs for healthcare professionals
- Partnerships between providers and educational institutions
- Career pathway development for rural and local residents
- “Grow your own” strategies that support students entering healthcare fields
These investments are designed to create long-term workforce stability by training individuals who are more likely to remain in their communities.
Supporting the Existing Workforce
Retention is as critical as recruitment in rural West Virginia. Care Force grants support efforts that help existing clinicians and staff remain in practice, such as:
- Continuing education and upskilling opportunities
- Support programs that reduce burnout
- Strategies that improve working conditions in rural settings
By investing in the current workforce, the program aims to reduce turnover and preserve institutional knowledge within rural healthcare systems.
Improving Recruitment and Retention
Mountain State Care Force also supports targeted recruitment and retention strategies, particularly for hard-to-fill roles. These efforts may include:
- Incentives tied to rural practice
- Support for early-career clinicians
- Programs that address barriers to rural employment
Importantly, these strategies are designed to complement—not replace—longer-term pipeline and retention efforts.
Strengthening Workforce Infrastructure
In addition to direct workforce activities, the program recognizes that sustainable staffing depends on strong systems. Funding may support:
- Workforce planning and coordination
- Administrative and programmatic capacity
- Data and evaluation efforts tied to workforce outcomes
These investments help ensure that workforce initiatives can be managed effectively and sustained over time.
How the Program Fits Into Rural Health Transformation
Mountain State Care Force is not a standalone workforce program. It is embedded within West Virginia’s larger Rural Health Transformation strategy, which focuses on:
- Keeping care local
- Reducing reliance on temporary staffing
- Building systems that work in rural contexts
By centering workforce development within this broader framework, the state is aligning people, programs, and policy toward shared rural health goals.
What Makes Mountain State Care Force Different
What distinguishes Mountain State Care Force Grants is their emphasis on long-term workforce sustainability rather than short-term fixes. The program:
- Prioritizes training and retention alongside recruitment
- Encourages partnerships across education, healthcare, and communities
- Recognizes the unique challenges of rural and Appalachian settings
This approach reflects the reality that rural workforce challenges cannot be solved by recruitment alone.
What to Expect as the Program Moves Forward
As grant opportunities roll out, applicants should be prepared to demonstrate:
- Alignment with workforce and rural health priorities
- Clear identification of the populations or communities served
- Feasible plans for implementation and sustainability
- Capacity to manage funding and report on outcomes
Programs that connect workforce investments to measurable improvements in access, stability, and retention are likely to be strongest.
Why This Matters for Rural West Virginia
Healthcare access in rural West Virginia depends on the people delivering care. Mountain State Care Force Grants represent a strategic investment in those people—helping ensure that communities can rely on local providers today and into the future.
By focusing on workforce pipelines, retention, and system support, the Mountain State Care Force is laying the groundwork for a more stable, resilient rural healthcare system across the state.
Founder of the Rural Healthcare Transformation Hub @ Nurse Recruitment X
Looking to secure Rural Health Transformation Program funds and fix your workforce shortages? Our Rural Health Transformation Hub helps rural hospitals, clinics, and home care agencies design winning proposals and build the pipelines needed to recruit and retain staff. We combine grant support with real recruitment expertise, giving you a low-risk way to compete for funds and implement workforce solutions that work.
