The HOME RUN Rural Workforce Investment Program, administered by the Hilo Benioff Medical Center Foundation in partnership with Hawaiʻi rural health workforce partners, is currently accepting online applications to strengthen recruitment, retention, career advancement, practice sustainability, and healthcare access in rural Hawaiʻi.
Funding
The current live application and official program page list four individual workforce investment categories:
- Allied Health Professions and/or Upskilling: up to $50,000 per individual.
- Provider Recruitment: up to $100,000 per individual.
- Provider Retention: up to $75,000 per individual.
- Rural Practice Leadership: up to $200,000 per individual.
The official FAQ describes HOME RUN investments as direct cash payments to selected applicants, generally ranging from $20,000 to $200,000 depending on category and award determination. Awards are competitive and may vary based on workforce need, specialty, geography, recruitment or retention impact, program priorities, and available funding.
Source-control note: the downloadable preview-application PDF currently shows older lower ceilings of $40,000 for Allied Health/Upskilling and $50,000 for Provider Retention. The current live application, current official program page, and current FAQ instead agree on $50,000 and $75,000 respectively. Atlas is therefore using the live application and current program materials for the published amounts and treating the preview PDF as stale unless the program issues a contrary update.
Eligibility and Priority
Applicants must be licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized to provide clinical healthcare services in Hawaiʻi and must provide, or commit to provide, direct patient care in a qualifying rural Hawaiʻi practice setting. The live application requires participating practice sites to accept public insurance for at least 30% of annual patient billing claims, or for new practices to commit to meeting that threshold during the service term. Selected participants must complete five years of full-time rural clinical service. Current qualifying geography includes Hawaiʻi, Maui, and Kauaʻi Counties plus designated rural Oʻahu ZIP codes 96792, 96786, 96795, 96717, 96762, 96731, 96712, and 96791. Remote-only service is not currently approved. Priority may favor primary care and behavioral health providers, rural specialists, residency participants, shortage professions, geographic need, recruitment or retention impact, workforce-development contributions, and available funding.
Required Application Materials
Applications must be submitted online. The live application requires a completed application, a current Hawaiʻi professional license or certificate when applicable, a valid government-issued ID, and an employment start date. The current FAQ additionally identifies practice-site certification and any other documentation requested by the program. Applicants with incomplete documentation may be required to resubmit.
Deadline and Review Timing
Applications are accepted throughout the year on a rolling basis and are reviewed quarterly, with additional review cycles possible depending on funding and program need. The live program page remains open and still notes that Quarter 2 review was scheduled to begin by August 31, 2026. There is no fixed annual closing date published in the current FAQ or live application, so applicants should confirm the next review cycle and current funding availability directly with the program office.
Program Administration
HOME RUN is part of Hawaiʻi’s Rural Health Transformation Program workforce initiative. The Hilo Benioff Medical Center Foundation serves as the Hawaiʻi Island Area Health Education Center and administers the investment program with statewide workforce partners.
Official sources:
Hilo Benioff Medical Center Foundation HOME RUN Program
Live HOME RUN Investment Program application
Current HOME RUN Investment Program FAQ
Hawaiʻi State Rural Health Association Rural Health Transformation Program overview