SPRINT-UETN Consortium
Sustainable Provider Revenue, Infrastructure, and Network Technology
Technology funding for rural Utah health care. The SPRINT-UETN Consortium awards competitive subawards for EHR upgrades, cybersecurity, AI and automation, and interoperability, so rural providers can deliver secure, connected, efficient care and patients can reach their own health records.
Utah's Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is a long-term, statewide effort led by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) with a $195.7 million first-year award from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The program funds seven strategic initiatives that strengthen rural health systems across the state.
The SPRINT-UETN Consortium brings RHTP technology funding to rural Utah providers. The Utah Education and Telehealth Network (UETN) serves as the lead entity, administrative partner, and fiscal agent for this work: awarding and managing subawards, purchasing consortium-wide technology services, and reporting results to DHHS and CMS. Two RHTP initiatives are delivered through the SPRINT-UETN Consortium:
SUPPORT
Shared Utilities for Partnered Provider Operational Resources and Technology. Modern, certified EHRs, standardized cybersecurity defenses, and safe clinical AI across rural facilities. (Initiatives 6.1 to 6.5)
LINCS
Leveraging Interoperability Networks to Connect Services. Secure health data exchange and better patient access to health information. (Initiatives 7.1 and 7.2)
SPRINT-UETN Consortium Goals
The goal is a secure, connected, patient-centered rural health network that strengthens the long-term viability of rural providers while improving access to quality care. Every funded project is measured on four results:
Stronger data security
Participating facilities fully deploy core safeguards such as multi-factor authentication and endpoint detection and response, backed by annual staff training.
Less documentation burden
Clinicians using AI documentation tools report less time charting and more time with patients.
More connected facilities
Rural facilities actively exchange records and care coordination files through HL7 FHIR APIs.
Higher patient portal use
More rural patients register for and use patient portals to view, download, and share their own health records.
How to be part of the SPRINT-UETN Consortium
Eligible organizations may apply in one funding area or several. Each area has its own application questions, budget, and work plan, and each is scored separately.
1 EHR Upgrades & Patient Data Access
Up to $9.4 million
Technical upgrades to certified EHRs, FHIR-based APIs that let patients securely view and download their records, and related implementation, optimization, and staff training.
Proposed award range: $50,000 to $750,000
2 Cybersecurity
Up to $4.5 million
Site-specific protections such as on-site firewall and switch hardware, MFA hardware tokens, encrypted email and data, backup and disaster recovery, contracted local IT support, physical security for server rooms, and staff device hardening, where not already provided centrally for the consortium.
Proposed award range: $25,000 to $250,000
3AI & Automation
Up to $3.0 million
Evaluating, licensing, and implementing safe, ethically compliant AI for appointment scheduling, documentation (virtual scribes), chart summarization, and coordination of home-based remote patient monitoring for chronic disease and maternity care.
Proposed award range: $25,000 to $300,000
4 Interoperability & Patient Access
Up to $4.0 million
Offsetting EHR vendor fees to join the state interoperability network through HL7 FHIR APIs, consent management for social drivers of health and behavioral health data (42 C.F.R. Part 2), automated public health registry reporting, and patient portal integrations and outreach.
Proposed award range: $25,000 to $300,000
Allocations are UETN's totals for each area, not the amount available to applicants. Part of each allocation covers UETN administration and consortium-wide services UETN purchases centrally, such as fractional CISO access for independent Critical Access Hospitals and group-purchased security licenses. Applicants do not need to request those services in their budgets. Award ranges are proposed and may be adjusted.
Who Can Apply
Eligible organizations
- Rural hospitals, including Critical Access Hospitals
- Rural health clinics and other rural clinics
- Federally Qualified Health Centers and community health centers
- Independent rural providers and practices
- Local health departments
- Tribal health organizations operating any of the facility types above
- Non-rural healthcare providers and stakeholders serving rural counties
Location and standing
The facilities served by the project must be in one of Utah's 25 rural counties, as defined in Utah Code § 26B-4-701 and § 17-60-104. Projects in Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, and Weber counties are not eligible. A multi-site organization may apply only for its rural sites.
Applicants must hold an active Unique Entity ID (UEI) and SAM.gov registration, must not be suspended, debarred, or excluded from federal awards, and must be able to meet the insurance, HIPAA, and record-keeping terms of the RFA.
Each organization submits one application, which may cover one or more funding areas. Collaborative applications are welcome: one eligible organization serves as lead applicant and fiscal agent, and each partner signs a letter of commitment. Technology vendors, consultants, and other for-profit service providers may not apply directly, but funded applicants may hire them as contractors under federal procurement rules.
Key Dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| RFA released | October 23, 2026 |
| Applicant technical assistance webinar | October 28, 2026 |
| Last day to submit questions | November 19, 2026 |
| Applications due | November 20, 2026, 5:00 p.m. MT |
| Review and scoring | November 20 to 30, 2026 |
| Award notices | December 3, 2026 |
| Subaward agreements signed | By December 31, 2026 |
| Year 1 funds fully spent | By September 30, 2027 |
Year 1 is a short window by design. Plan projects you can start quickly and complete vendor work in time to spend Year 1 funds by September 30, 2027.
Use of Funds
Costs must be reasonable, necessary, tied to an activity in the RFA, and incurred during the subaward period, following federal cost principles (2 C.F.R. 200), the CMS RHTP Notice of Funding Opportunity, and Utah RHTP Program Directives.
Generally allowable
- Software licenses and subscriptions for the subaward term
- Vendor implementation, configuration, integration, and connection fees
- Project staff time (salary and fringe) and contracted IT or security services
- Training for clinical and administrative staff
- Security assessments and vulnerability scanning
- Patient outreach materials for portal adoption
- Indirect costs at your negotiated or de minimis rate
Not allowable
- Construction, renovation, and other capital expenditures (NOFO Category J)
- Clinical services that insurance could reimburse
- Funds that replace, rather than add to, existing spending (supplanting)
- Salary or wage support for clinicians under non-compete agreements
- Costs used to finance the non-federal share of any other program
- Activities similar to the NOFO's Rural Tech Catalyst Fund initiative
- Costs incurred before the subaward agreement start date
Caps and prior approvals
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Replacing an EHR that was HITECH-certified as of September 1, 2025 | Prior written DHHS approval required. All replacements across SPRINT are capped at 5% of funding per budget period. Upgrades are preferred. |
| Provider payments (NOFO Category B) | Prior written DHHS approval required. Capped at 15% of SPRINT funding per budget period. |
| Equipment at or above the Uniform Guidance threshold | Prior written DHHS approval required before purchase. |
| Moving funds between budget categories after award | Prior written approval from UETN and DHHS required. |
If You Are Funded
Every subaward includes a binding Results-Based Accountability (RBA) scorecard and the federal and state terms that flow down from UETN's agreement with DHHS.
SUPPORT measures (EHR, cybersecurity, AI)
- Percent of facilities with MFA and EDR fully implemented and deployed
- Percent of clinical staff completing annual cybersecurity awareness training
- Percent of clinicians using AI documentation tools who report less charting time
- Number of people served
LINCS measures (interoperability)
- Percent of facilities exchanging records via HL7 FHIR APIs
- Volume of care coordination and social-drivers referrals transmitted
- Patient portal registration and use
- Percent of facilities reporting complete, timely data to public health
- Improvement on an annual interoperability assessment
- Number of people served
Funded applicants report only the measures that apply to the areas they are funded for.
How Applications Are Reviewed
Each funding area in an application is scored on its own 100-point rubric, plus up to 10 priority points. Applications must score at least 70 points to be considered for funding.
- Eligibility screen. Pass or fail on eligibility, completeness, and on-time submission.
- Conflict-of-interest check. Every reviewer signs a disclosure; conflicted reviewers step out.
- Independent scoring. At least three reviewers score each funding area; scores are averaged and priority points added.
- Clarification. UETN may meet with applicants to clarify budgets or scope. No new material after the deadline.
- Recommendations. Awards weigh scores, geographic spread across rural counties, facility mix, and available funds; DHHS reviews selections before awards are final.
- Subaward agreements. Funded applicants sign an agreement with a final budget, work plan, and binding RBA scorecard by December 31, 2026.
UETN may fund an application in some areas and not others, fund a reduced budget, or decline to fund any application. Applicants that are not funded can ask for a summary of reviewer comments.
Priority points (up to 10)
| Facilities located in a frontier county | 3 |
| Tribal health organization, or a project that primarily serves a Tribal community | 3 |
| Small or independent facility with less than 1 FTE of in-house IT staff | 2 |
| Collaborative application, or commitment to consortium group purchasing | 2 |
Priority points are awarded from information in Part A and the attachments, not reviewer judgment.
Apply for Funding
Submit one application per organization through the SPRINT-UETN RFA on Submittable. Complete Part A once, then Part B, a budget workbook, and a work plan for each funding area you request. Attach a letter of commitment signed by your CEO or administrator, partner letters for collaborative applications, and vendor quotes where available.
Send questions to rhtp@uetn.org by November 19, 2026. Answers are posted in a public FAQ so every applicant receives the same information. Join the applicant webinar on October 28, 2026, or request one-on-one technical assistance at any point before the deadline.
Applications use 11-point font or larger with 1-inch margins. Part A is limited to 6 pages; each Part B section to 4 pages per area. Pages beyond the limit will not be read.
Additional Resources
- Rural Health Transformation Program FAQ
- LIFT Initiative
- Utah DHHS Rural Health Transformation Program
The SPRINT-UETN Consortium is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $20,900,000 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS, awarded to the Utah Education and Telehealth Network (UETN) through a subaward from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CMS/HHS or the U.S. Government.