Transport and home health capacity for rural hospitals using RHT funds
A rural hospital can order a ride, a home health visit or a community paramedicine visit from the clinical workflow. The VectorCare network and Hub send the request to contracted local vendors. Staff track each referral until it is done. DispatchCare runs the community paramedicine visits on the same network. VectorCare does not run vehicles, and it does not administer RHT funds.
- $50B over federal fiscal years 2026 to 2030 (CMS)
- Awards to all 50 states (CMS, Dec 29, 2025)
One network for the care that happens outside the hospital
A rural discharge plan often needs more than one vendor. The patient needs a ride to a specialist. A home health nurse needs to visit. A community paramedic needs to check weight and medicines.
Most rural hospitals book each of these by phone. Each vendor has its own process. The care team cannot see which orders are open.
The VectorCare Hub puts those orders in one place. Staff build the order once. The network sends it to the vendors the hospital contracts with. The order stays on the record until the vendor marks it done.
The network and Hub
VectorCare connects the hospital to the local vendors it contracts with. Where the EHR supports SMART on FHIR, staff start the order from the chart through SoFaaS.
DispatchCare on the same rails
DispatchCare is the VectorCare product for community paramedicine and mobile integrated healthcare. It is not a 911 CAD or an ePCR. To compare it with other tools, see community paramedicine software compared.
Your contracts stay yours
The hospital contracts with its vendors, and those vendors do the work. VectorCare is not a broker or a transport company.
Rural capacity is thin, and the hand-off is a phone call
A rural county may have few ambulance, wheelchair van or home health providers. When one cannot take an order, staff call the next one. Nobody sees the full list of who can help.
The order often leaves the record when the call ends. If the ride does not arrive, staff learn when the patient misses the visit.
A hospital that puts RHT subaward money into access needs to show what happened to each referral. Calls do not give it that record. Reporting rules come from your state. See RHT reporting requirements.
From the order to completion
Order from the workflow
Staff build the order once. Where the EHR supports SMART on FHIR, they start it in the chart.
Send to contracted vendors
The Hub sends the order to the vendors the hospital has contracted.
Track status
The vendor accepts the order and updates status. Staff see it on VectorCare.
Close the referral
The order shows completion. The hospital keeps the record for its own review.
Roadmap (no date): automated vendor matching and RHT reporting views.
What a rural hospital gets on day one
- One place to order outside care for a patient.
- Add the local providers you already contract with.
- Status on each order until the vendor marks it complete.
- Orders from the chart in SMART on FHIR EHRs, through SoFaaS.
Rural hospitals, health systems and network operators
- Rural and critical access hospitals. Place discharge rides and home visits without a phone chain.
- Health systems with rural sites. Use one vendor network across your facilities.
- Network operators and clinically integrated networks. Give member sites one way to order and track outside care.
Frequently asked questions
- The Hub is where hospital staff order rides, home health visits and community paramedicine visits. The VectorCare network sends each order to the vendors the hospital contracts with. Staff track the order until it is complete.
- VectorCare is a vendor to subrecipients, and it does not administer or apply for RHT funds. Your state plan, CMS rules and your grants office decide what is allowable. See the RHT budget kit.
- No. Your hospital contracts with its vendors. VectorCare does not own vehicles, employ clinicians or subcontract trips.
- DispatchCare is the VectorCare product for community paramedicine and mobile integrated healthcare, on the same network. State program teams can see DispatchCare for states.
- No. With SMART on FHIR, staff order from the chart. Without it, staff order on VectorCare.
- The RHT guide on dispatchcare.com explains the program. CMS publishes the official rules.
Bring your rural vendors onto one network
Show us your vendor list. We will show you an order go from the chart to completion.