PROVIDENCE, R.I. — [10/29/2026] — The New England Medical Innovation Center (NEMIC) today announced the Rhode Island Rural Health Innovator Program: Talent, Innovation, Development + Engagement (RI RHIP-TIDE), a statewide initiative to improve healthcare access, strengthen the rural healthcare workforce, and move practical innovation into the communities that need it.
Rhode Island’s rural communities have the providers, partners and determination to improve local healthcare. What has been missing is a coordinated mechanism to identify the challenges that matter most, bring the right innovators and healthcare stakeholders together, and move promising solutions from ideas to implementation. RI RHIP-TIDE is built to do that.
“Rural healthcare challenges require more than identifying problems — they require bringing the right people together to implement solutions that can actually work in the communities they are intended to serve,” said Dr. Jenny Hoffmann, President of NEMIC. “This Challenge creates a direct pathway between rural healthcare needs and the innovators, rural and rural-serving healthcare providers, community leaders and industry experts who can help solve them.”
This program is part of Rhode Island’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to improve the health and healthcare services of rural Rhode Islanders. RHTP programs increase access to care, build the health workforce of the future, and modernize health infrastructure technology.
How the program works
Listen first. NEMIC will conduct a Rural Health Needs Assessment across Rhode Island rural communities, working with healthcare providers, employers, educators, workforce partners, community organizations and patients to identify where innovation can make the biggest difference. A multidisciplinary committee will guide the process.
Compete. Findings from the assessment will shape the Rhode Island Rural Health Innovation Challenge. Eight companies — from Rhode Island or beyond — and teams with relevant solutions will be selected to pitch at the Challenge event on Thursday, January 28, 2027, at the CIC Providence.
Implement. Five teams will advance into a five-month implementation program starting February 1, 2027, with technical assistance, expert mentorship and direct access to rural healthcare providers and community partners.
Winning teams will share the largest prize package in NEMIC's nearly 10-year history: totaling more than $150,000 in cash and support services, including fully funded attendance at LSI USA.
Beyond the Challenge
RI RHIP-TIDE also includes a Rural Health Innovation Fellowship and workforce development and career exploration programming. Together, these activities are expected to engage approximately 160 participants across the state.
“We’re thrilled at the opportunity to lead this important initiative that will make a lasting impact for communities across the state”
Innovators: Get Ready
The Challenge is designed for healthcare technology companies, startups, entrepreneurs, healthcare organizations and multidisciplinary teams with solutions relevant to rural healthcare. Applications will open October 29, 2026. Innovators can apply at: https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/azCZMS.
About NEMIC
The New England Medical Innovation Center (NEMIC) is a Rhode Island-based nonprofit dedicated to improving healthcare outcomes through innovation. NEMIC works at the intersection of healthcare, technology, workforce development and commercialization. To date, NEMIC has supported more than 515 companies, facilitated more than $150 million in funding, and helped create 367 jobs.
This project 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 $156,169,931.19 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. 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.
