Rural Health Transformation Logo

The purpose of the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) Center of Excellence (CoE) Advisory Council is to ensure that the program’s priorities reflect the state’s unique rural health needs at the county, tribal, and facility level. The Advisory Council will support and guide the CoE Strategy and Analytics vendor’s work by providing critical provider and community perspectives, feedback, and recommendations informed by their experience and expertise in the realities of rural health care delivery in Montana.  

Council Membership

The council will consist of the following members:  

  • 1 Rural Health Care Consumer: this position is open exclusively to rural health care patients, patient representatives, or caregivers. Active or retired health care professionals are not eligible for this position. 
  • 1 Rural Primary Care Clinician 
  • 1 Tribal Health Representative  
  • 4 Prospective Payment System (PPS) Hospital Representatives 
  • 6 Critical Access Hospitals (CAH)/Rural Emergency Hospitals (REH) Representatives, including: 
    • 2 owned by or affiliated with a PPS hospital 
    • 4 independent, non-affiliated CAH or REH facilities 
  • 2 Federally Qualified Health Center Representatives 
  • 2 DPHHS representatives 
  • 3 legislators 
  • 1 Statewide hospital organization representative 
  • 1 Statewide primary care organization representative 
  • 1 Health care facility owned organization/professional network representative 
  • 2 health insurance carrier representatives 

The application period for council membership has closed. DPHHS is currently reviewing applications and will announce appointments as soon as they are made.

How Participation Works

  • Advisory role: Stakeholders provide input on CoE goals, initiatives, and implementation strategies. This may include prioritization of recommendations, developing further detailed guidance for recommendations, i.e., according to facility type or population type, and supporting strategic planning for the CoE by providing guidance and feedback. 
  • Members also serve as champions of the CoE to their constituents of the organizations and communities they represent. This includes supporting facility recruitment and engagement efforts as well as ongoing outreach and education to participating and partnering organizations. The Department will retain final authority over all funding decisions. 
  • Public comment: All meetings will be subject to public meeting laws with designated time on each agenda for public comment. Open sessions allow community members and interested parties to share feedback directly with the Advisory Council. 
  • Commitment expectations: The Department anticipates the meeting schedule to be quarterly, with the potential for monthly meetings as needed. Meetings will be hybrid with in-person and remote attendance options, with in-person attendance highly recommended and encouraged. The Advisory Council is currently scheduled to terminate in late 2028. 

Letters Regarding Creation of the CoE Advisory Council

Letter from Director Brereton to Governor Greg Gianforte requesting approval of the Council:

Letter from Gov. Greg Gianforte approving creation of the Council: