Rural Emergency Medical Services Training Grant

For programmatic or technical questions:
Humberto Carvalho
240.276.2974
Humberto.Carvalho@samhsa.hhs.gov

For grants management or budget questions:
240.276.1940
FOACSAT@samhsa.hhs.gov

For grant review process and application status questions contact:
Samantha Dock-Herbster
240.276.0405
Samantha.DockHerbster@samhsa.hhs.gov

The Rural Emergency Medical Services Training Grant (Short Title: EMS Training) provides funding to recruit and train emergency medical services personnel in rural areas with a focus on addressing substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions.

Required activities include:

• Ensure EMS personnel are trained on mental and substance use disorders and trauma-informed, recovery-based care for people with such disorders in emergency situations
• Acquire emergency medical services equipment
• Train EMS personnel on the use of Naloxone and/or other FDA-approved opioid reversal medications in emergency opioid overdose situations
• Train EMS personnel, provide resources, and implement procedures on connecting those who have undergone overdose reversal to substance use disorder treatment
• Train EMS personnel on the use of motivational interviewing to engage individuals who use substances, and/or who suffer mental health conditions, and to provide referrals to treatment and harm reduction services
• Train EMS personnel on working with local peer-support specialists in assisting those who have undergone overdose reversal, including facilitating warm handoffs
• Develop procedures to ensure all overdoses are reported to the state and local public health department so that any individual who has experienced an overdose can be followed up with and provided linkages to treatment and referral to ongoing peer recovery support
• Train EMS personnel to maintain licenses and certifications relevant to serve in an EMS agency
• Conduct courses that qualify graduates to serve in an EMS agency
• Fund specific training to meet federal or state licensing or certification requirements

Eligible applicants include rural emergency medical service agencies operated by local or tribal governments (fire-based and non-fire based) and nonprofit emergency medical service agencies.

Award ceiling: $200,000 per year
Project period: 2 years
Estimated number of awards: 52
Estimated total program funding: $10,400,000

A 10% non-federal matching contribution is required.

Links to the full announcement, application instructions, and the online application process are available through grants.gov.

This opportunity has been issued as standing funding announcement that will remain open until March 20, 2025. Applicants can apply for funding in any of the three project periods, with the following due dates:

• May 1, 2023
• March 20, 2024
• March 20, 2025

Funding for this program in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 is contingent upon SAMHSA's appropriations in those years.

Applicant webinar recording and slides