CONCORD, NH - Governor Kelly Ayotte last week welcomed officials from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to New Hampshire to highlight the State's approach to implementing the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) - a historic federal investment with more than $204 million funding for the first year to make healthcare more affordable and accessible across New Hampshire's rural communities.

New Hampshire, which received the largest grant award in New England, is one of the first states selected by CMS for an in-person visit.

"Our GO-NORTH team and partners across New Hampshire's rural health care system are hard at work implementing our plan to help every Granite Stater access high-quality, affordable care closer to home," said Governor Ayotte. "I was glad to welcome CMS officials to our state to get a closer look at the great work we're doing to make sure this effort is successful and sustainable well into the future."

Governor Ayotte emphasized her administration's commitment to the success of the program, including the creation of GO-NORTH (the Governor's Office of New Opportunities for Rural Health Transformation) to coordinate implementation across state government, health care providers, and community partners.

During the visit, CMS officials met with state leaders in Concord to review New Hampshire's implementation strategy, designed to be nimble, coordinated, and locally driven.

The delegation then traveled north to see how these efforts are taking shape in rural communities, beginning in Warren at the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC); Ammonoosuc Community Health Services' Mount Moosilauke Health Center, where officials learned how the federally qualified health center is sustaining rural primary care services from a restored historic train depot. In Whitefield, CMS officials visited another FQHC Ammonoosuc Community Health Services location to learn how the organization is expanding food access, community programming, and preventive health supports to improve community health outcomes.

On the second day, CMS officials visited Littleton Regional Hospital, where local leaders discussed how earlier investments helped build a regional system of care connecting EMS, primary care, and hospital services. Local EMS leaders emphasized the improved outcomes for rural communities when local coordination is prioritized, and investments are made at a local level.

The visit also included a stop at White Mountains Community College, where CMS officials met with students and partners working to expand New Hampshire's rural healthcare workforce through training programs, career pathways, clinical simulation and new incentives to work in rural communities.

The visit concluded in Plymouth at Little Antlers Center, a childcare facility operated by the FQHC, Mid-State Health Center, highlighting the connection between healthcare workforce, childcare access, and community well-being.