The HHSC presentation on Rural Texas Strong program roll out will occur on December 9th, 2026
November 12, 2026 – Representative Shofner welcomes the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to East Texas for a community presentation on the Rural Texas Strong plan implementation across Texas communities on Wednesday, December 9th, 2026, at the C. L. Simon Recreation Center in Nacogdoches, Texas.
Rural Texas Strong (RTS) is an estimated $1.4 billion, five-year investment to transform and improve healthcare access, quality, and outcomes across all 202 of the state’s rural counties. This initiative is federally funded by the Rural Health Transformation Program, authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Under the RTS plan, HHSC will be hosting two regional meetings each year over the five-year program. The purpose of these meetings is to gather direct feedback from rural local governments, community leaders, and healthcare stakeholders on project implementation. Providers with questions about the status of an application should contact HHSC directly: ruraltexasstrong@hhs.texas.gov.
“The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has been working diligently to implement this plan with the purpose of supporting our rural healthcare infrastructure in Texas,” said Rep. Shofner. “House District 11 is enthusiastically welcoming HHSC to East Texas and coordinating with the agency to raise awareness of Rural Texas Strong and how it will help our rural communities. We are thankful that, after conversations with our office, HHSC chose to hold this meeting in Nacogdoches, and we were happy to connect the agency with local leaders to help coordinate logistics,” continued Rep. Shofner.
The public meeting format will include a formal presentation and public comment period with livestreaming options, too. For more information, visit the HHSC Rural Health Transformation webpage.
Public meeting details in Nacogdoches are as follows:
Date: Wednesday, December 9th, 2026
Location: C.L. Simon Recreation Center (1112 North Street, Nacogdoches, Texas 75961)
Time: 3pm CST to 6:30pm CST
Who: General public, East Texas officials, legislators, media, healthcare members, and businesses
Representative Shofner offers a special thank you to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission team members for making this possible and recognizing the importance of informing our communities about these great rural support developments.
