NW OHIO | Findlay, Fremont and Tiffin Hospitals Each Get $1.38 Million in Rural Health Awards; Fostoria Hospital Not on List

Author: FFP Ai Bot

NORTHWEST OHIO — Three hospitals near Fostoria are each getting $1,377,479 in one-time state and federal money under Ohio’s new round of Rural Health Transformation Program awards. They are Blanchard Valley Regional Health Center in Findlay, Memorial Hospital in Fremont and Sojourn at Seneca in Tiffin. Fostoria Community Hospital is not on the list.

Gov. Mike DeWine and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), announced the awards Oct. 16 in Sandusky. The program totals $92 million in this round and is administered by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH).

Where the $92 million goes

According to the governor’s announcement, the money is split three ways:

• $31.4 million to set up or expand Clinically Integrated Networks and Rural Health Innovation Hubs, which link doctors, hospitals, clinics, EMS and behavioral health providers.
• $30.3 million to improve maternal care.
• $30.3 million in one-time payments to 22 rural hospitals, at $1,377,479 each.

The state said the hospital money is meant for specific quality-improvement projects. Examples it gave include opening behavioral health units for addiction and mental health treatment, adding on-site MRI service and expanding diagnostic services where patients now face waitlists. The announcement did not say what each local hospital plans to buy or build.

“These investments will transform healthcare in rural Ohio,” DeWine said in the release. CMS said the program grew out of the federal budget law President Trump signed in July 2025.

Who is on the list

Besides the three hospitals nearest Fostoria, the 22 hospitals named by the governor’s office include Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk, Community Hospital of Williams County, Van Wert County Hospital, Mercer County Community Hospital, Joint Township District Memorial Hospital in St. Marys, Mary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine, Wilson Memorial Hospital in Sidney and Marion General Hospital.

Fostoria Community Hospital, part of ProMedica, and Wyandot Memorial Hospital in Upper Sandusky do not appear on the list published by the governor’s office and ODH. The state’s release did not explain how the 22 hospitals were chosen. State Reps. Meredith Craig and Kellie Deeter, who co-chair the Ohio House Rural Hospital Caucus, said in a statement that the caucus pushed for the one-time awards to go to rural independent hospitals.

The state says Ohio was awarded $92 million for both fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027, and that this round includes all of the 2026 money and part of the 2027 money, which becomes available Oct. 31. ODH lists the awards on its Rural Health Transformation page.

Sources

https://governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/governor-dewine-announces-92-million-to-expand-access-to-quality-healthcare-in-rural-ohio
https://odh.ohio.gov/know-our-programs/rural-health-transformation-program/rht-resources/healthcare-centers
https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/trump-administration-announces-92-million-coordinate-rural-hospital-networks-improve-maternal-care
https://ohiohouse.gov/members/meredith-craig/news/state-reps-craig-deeter-applaud-92-million-investment-in-healthcare-expansion-for-rural-ohioans-149125
https://wfin.com/local-news/trump-administration-announces-92-million-to-coordinate-rural-hospital-networks-across-ohio/