Hyde-Smith Announces $3.75 Million to Help 20 Miss. Rural Hospitals Sustain Workforce

Tuesday, September 15, 2026 HYDE-SMITH ANNOUNCES $3.75 MILLION TO HELP 20 MISS. RURAL HOSPITALS SUSTAIN WORKFORCE Hyde-Smith Avid Supporter of Rural Hospital Provider Assistance Program, Encouraged Miss. Hospitals to Apply WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today announced that 20 rural hospitals and health providers in Mississippi will receive federal grant funding through a program created to help them sustain their workforces and continue to provide care. Hyde-Smith, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped secure the $24.7 million appropriated in FY2026 for the Rural Hospital Provider Assistance Program.  This grant program is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which recently approved grants to 132 hospitals nationally, including the 20 in Mississippi. “I encouraged providers in Mississippi to apply for these funds because I know that every little bit helps in the struggle to maintain services and keep the doors open.  This effort is more difficult because of structural payment disadvantages linked to Mississippi’s low average wage index, which is a problem Congress must address,” Hyde-Smith said. “I’m pleased these eligible hospitals availed themselves of these federal resources.” The Rural Hospital Provider Assistance Program award is formula-based and calculated by dividing the total available funding ($24,750,000 in FY2026) equally among eligible rural hospitals that apply.  As such, Mississippi facilities will receive $3.75 million in total or just over $187,500 per facility: •    Anderson Regional Medical Center-South Campus, Meridian •    Baptist Memorial Hospital, Booneville •    Clay County Medical Corporation, West Point •    George County Hospital, Lucedale •    Greenwood Leflore Hospital, Greenwood •    Highland Community Hospital, Picayune •    Highland Hills Medical Center, Senatobia •    Jasper General Hospital, Bay Springs •    Kings Daughters Medical Center, Brookhaven •    Magee General Hospital, Magee •    Marion General Hospital, Columbia •    Neshoba County General Hospital, Philadelphia •    Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, Clarksdale •    South Sunflower County Hospital, Indianola •    Tishomingo Health Services, Iuka •    University of Mississippi Medical Center-Grenada, Grenada •    Wayne General Hospital, Waynesboro •    Webster Health Services, Eupora •    Winston Medical Services, Louisville •    Yalobusha General Hospital, Water Valley As part of her rural health care focus, Hyde-Smith has cosponsored legislation to address workforce shortages, including the Save Struggling Hospitals Act (S.4233) that would codify the Medicare low-wage index hospital policy that increased Medicare wage index values for hospitals in the bottom 25th percentile.  Its enactment would ensure Mississippi hospitals in rural and low-wage areas receive fair Medicare reimbursement for the essential services they provide and help prevent closure. Earlier this year, Hyde-Smith also encouraged Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to actively work with Congress on legislation to fix the Area Wage Index (AWI) formula that disadvantages hospitals in low-wage states like Mississippi. ### Issues Health Care Rural Communities Region Capital Coast Delta East Central Golden Triangle North Mississippi Pine Belt Southwest