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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEEKER, CO – September 28, 2026 – Pioneers Medical Center (PMC) has been awarded $1,204,379 through Colorado’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) to expand after-hours prescription access, modernize pharmacy services, and strengthen telehealth and remote patient monitoring for residents of Rio Blanco County and surrounding communities.
The funding is part of nearly $170 million in RHTP grants directed by the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) to rural healthcare providers across Colorado. Funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), these investments will help protect access to care and support better health outcomes in Colorado’s rural and frontier communities.
PMC will use its RHTP award to make care easier to reach in a frontier region where distance is a daily barrier to health. Through the Mini-Grants to Hospitals program, Meeker Drugs, the hospital-owned pharmacy and the only retail pharmacy in Meeker, will add a secure automated pickup system so patients can collect eligible prescriptions outside regular pharmacy hours. The pharmacy will also add automation for adherence packaging, pill counting, and medication flavoring, giving pharmacists more time for patient care. Through the Support for Telehealth Participation program, PMC will expand telehealth and remote patient monitoring, including new telemedicine nursing and medical assistant positions, fall-alert technology for vulnerable patients, additional home sleep testing equipment, real-time vital-sign transmission from ambulances, and upgrades to hospital communication and patient monitoring systems.
Rio Blanco County covers more than 3,200 square miles and is home to about 6,500 residents, and PMC is the only hospital within 45 miles. The county’s rate of preventable hospital stays is about 35 percent higher than the Colorado average, and roughly one in five residents is 65 or older. In the county’s 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment, more than 75 percent of respondents rated access to healthcare services as important or extremely important. These projects are designed to help residents get medications sooner, be monitored safely at home, and receive faster, better-coordinated care in an emergency.
“Rio Blanco County is a frontier community. For many of our neighbors, the next healthcare provider is more than 45 miles away over mountain roads,” said Steve Hannah, CEO of Pioneers Medical Center. “This award lets us use technology to bring care closer to home. That means prescription pickup around the clock, remote monitoring for vulnerable patients, and faster communication when every minute counts. It also creates new telehealth jobs right here in Meeker. We are grateful to the Rural Health Transformation Program and to the staff and community partners who made this possible.”
Through this award, Pioneers Medical Center will:
Colorado is directing $169,587,181 in RHTP grants to rural healthcare providers across the state. Through a highly competitive application process, 91 applicants and approximately 250 projects were selected to receive funding across 52 rural or frontier counties and three rural census tract counties.
A complete list of Colorado Rural Health Transformation Program awardees and additional information about RHTP is available on the RHTP website.
Pioneers Medical Center is a 16-bed critical access hospital in Meeker, Colorado, operated by the Eastern Rio Blanco County Health Service District. For more than 75 years, PMC has provided comprehensive healthcare to residents of Rio Blanco County and surrounding communities in northwestern Colorado. Services include emergency care, swing-bed transitional care, home care, long-term care, primary care through Meeker Family Health Center, and orthopedics through Colorado Advanced Orthopedics, along with Meeker Drugs, the hospital-owned pharmacy.
The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is a five-year federal initiative administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) designed to strengthen healthcare access and improve health outcomes in rural and frontier communities. The program supports investments in workforce development, innovative care models, technology-enabled services, and health system sustainability. The program was authorized under Section 71401 of H.R. 1 (Public Law 119-21) to provide grants totaling $50 billion in federal funding nationwide from Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2026 through FFY 2030.
Colorado’s award totals $200,105,604.17 for the first year of the program to support rural health transformation efforts across the state, and is 100% funded by CMS. The contents of this release are those of Pioneers Medical Center and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CMS/HHS or the U.S. Government.
Erika Wyld
Director of Public Relations
Pioneers Medical Center
970.693.6049
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