Iowa PCA Selected as Communities of Care Contractor for Iowa HHS Rural Health Transformation Project’s Healthy Hometowns Initiative

The Iowa Primary Care Association (Iowa PCA) has been selected by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS) to serve as the statewide Communities of Care Technical Assistance Provider as part of Iowa’s Rural Health Transformation Project and the Healthy Hometowns initiative.

Through this work, the Iowa PCA will provide training, tools, and implementation support to help rural Iowa providers and community organizations develop sustainable, co-located Communities of Care, bringing multiple services together at a single rural site to strengthen care coordination and improve access for Iowans, with a focus on chronic disease prevention and management.

“Rural communities deserve care that is coordinated, accessible, and built around the realities of daily life. Communities of Care is about making it easier for Iowans to get the right support in the right place – in one location – so fewer people fall through the cracks,” said Aaron Todd, CEO, Iowa Primary Care Association. “The Iowa PCA is proud to bring our statewide experience in practice transformation, integrated care, and capacity-building to help local providers and community partners build models that are sustainable and meet the needs of rural communities throughout our state.”

Beginning in late spring and continuing through the summer, the Iowa PCA will host a series of in-person training sessions, open to the public, across rural Iowa, in addition to virtual training sessions. Iowa HHS intends to release an RFP this summer to select up to seven pilot sites for the Communities of Care co-location initiative, focused on building sustainable, replicable co-location models in rural communities.

The Communities of Care initiative is part of Iowa’s Healthy Hometowns framework and is funded through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Rural Health Transformation Program. The Communities of Care initiative is supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling approximately $209,040,063.71 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official view of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

Kickoff webinar

The Iowa PCA and Iowa HHS hosted a kickoff webinar on Friday, May 15, 2026 to share an overview of Communities of Care within Healthy Hometowns, what to expect in the months ahead, and how organizations can stay engaged.

To watch a recording of the webinar, click here.

Learn more about the Communities of Care Co-Location initiative here.