Telehealth Centers of Excellence

The Telehealth Centers of Excellence program is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HRSA is a federal agency focused on improving access to health care services for people who are geographically isolated or economically or medically vulnerable. This program specifically builds on HRSA’s long-standing investment in telehealth as a mechanism to extend care to rural and underserved populations. The Telehealth Centers of Excellence initiative is designed to position select academic medical institutions as leaders in telehealth innovation, evaluation, and dissemination of best practices across the United States. The primary purpose of this funding opportunity is to support academic medical centers in developing, implementing, and rigorously evaluating innovative telehealth solutions. These solutions are expected to address access barriers and improve health outcomes in rural and underserved communities. Awardees will function as national demonstration sites, testing new models of telehealth delivery and generating evidence-based approaches that can be scaled or replicated in other settings. The program emphasizes not only service delivery but also research, evaluation, and knowledge dissemination to inform broader telehealth adoption nationwide. Funding under this opportunity will be provided through a cooperative agreement mechanism, indicating substantial involvement from HRSA in program oversight and collaboration. The total estimated program funding is 8,500,000 dollars, with two anticipated awards of 4,250,000 dollars each. These funds are intended to support a range of activities including program implementation, evaluation, workforce development, and dissemination of findings. While specific allowable costs are not detailed in the forecast notice, typical HRSA cooperative agreements support personnel, infrastructure, data collection, and reporting activities aligned with program goals. There is no cost sharing or matching requirement associated with this funding opportunity. Eligibility for this program is highly restricted. Applicants must be public or state-controlled institutions of higher education, specifically limited to the two current recipients of the Telehealth Centers of Excellence program. This indicates that the opportunity is not open to new applicants but rather is intended to continue or expand the work of existing centers. These institutions are expected to have the capacity, infrastructure, and experience necessary to carry out complex telehealth initiatives and serve as national leaders in this domain. The application process is expected to follow standard federal grant submission procedures through Grants.gov, requiring electronic submission by the specified deadline. The estimated application due date is June 1, 2026, with submissions required by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. While the forecast notice does not provide detailed application components, applicants can expect to submit a comprehensive proposal including project narrative, budget justification, evaluation plan, and organizational capacity documentation. There is no indication of a pre-application requirement such as a letter of intent. The timeline for this opportunity includes an estimated posting date of April 17, 2026, followed by the application deadline on June 1, 2026. Awards are expected to be announced by August 3, 2026, with a project start date of September 1, 2026. This relatively short turnaround between application and award suggests a continuation or renewal process for existing grantees. The program does not explicitly state whether it is recurring, but given its continuation nature and restriction to current recipients, it likely follows a multi-year funding cycle with periodic renewals. For additional information or inquiries, applicants may contact Tracy Tendo at HRSA via phone at 240-706-3460 or email at [email protected]. As this is a forecasted opportunity, applicants are encouraged to monitor Grants.gov for the official funding announcement and any updates to application requirements or timelines. The program represents a significant federal investment in advancing telehealth innovation and improving health equity through scalable, evidence-based solutions.