Oklahoma City, OK January 02, 2026 --(PR.com)-- Oklahoma Rise 25 in 25 Foundation and the Musculoskeletal Consortium of Oklahoma (MCOK), hosted at the MCOK Oklahoma City Innovation Lab, today announced the formation of the Oklahoma Rise 25 in 25 RHTP Task Force—an independent, Oklahoma-led think tank created to help accelerate rural health transformation initiatives across the state.

This launch follows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announcement that all 50 states will receive awards under the Rural Health Transformation Program, a $50 billion national initiative. CMS reported that Oklahoma’s 2026 annual award amount is $223,476,949, and is projected to total approximately $1.1 billion over five years. The program is designed to strengthen and modernize healthcare in rural communities through multi-year investments and statewide implementation plans.

“Oklahoma has achieved the 5th highest CMS RHTP funding award nationally. Now the hard part begins: execution,” said Oklahoma Physician, Oklahoma Rise 25 in 25 Chief Executive, and MCOK Founder Dr. Keley John Booth, MD. “The Oklahoma Rise 25 in 25 RHTP Task Force exists to keep this work Oklahoma-led, outcomes-driven, and operational—so rural communities see real improvements in access, quality, and sustainability.”

A Mission-Built Task Force—Not Another Talking Group
The Oklahoma Rise 25 in 25 RHTP Task Force is designed for speed, coordination, and measurable impact. It will operate as a neutral, independent convening and execution resource—focused on what works in Oklahoma’s rural context and grounded in community realities.

Core capabilities include:
• Oklahoma-first problem solving: locally grounded strategy and stakeholder coordination that respects rural communities, Tribal partners, and regional realities.
• Advanced AI & data tool development: custom AI-enabled planning tools and interactive logistics tools to translate statewide priorities into practical actions, timelines, and accountability.
• A Center of Operations: the Oklahoma City Innovation Lab will serve as a central resource for working sessions, stakeholder collaboration, and infrastructure to support teams preparing for RFP/NOFO responses as state opportunities open.
• Practical execution support: templates, playbooks, and scenario planning to help participating organizations move from concept to implementation with less friction and more alignment.

Connecting to Oklahoma’s RHTP Priorities
Oklahoma’s Rural Health Transformation planning documents describe six interrelated initiatives spanning care access and innovation, upstream prevention, regional collaboration, value-based transformation, workforce development, and a connected health data utility. The Task Force aligns its work to these priorities to help accelerate readiness, coordination, and implementation momentum.

Examples of statewide priority areas described in Oklahoma planning materials include:
• Regional collaboration infrastructure—such as rural clinically integrated network development and a Rural Regional Reorientation Plan to support sustainable, coordinated rural systems of care.
• Access-enabling programs—such as statewide transportation expansion, telehealth-enabled specialty care (e.g., telestroke), and maternal health supports, including remote patient monitoring.
• Data utility expansion—strengthening connectivity and use of Oklahoma’s statewide Health Information Exchange (HIE) and analytics to support planning and clinical decision-making.

Call to Action: Oklahoma Needs All Hands On Deck
The Task Force invites rural community leaders, healthcare subject matter experts, payers, innovators, technology builders, educators, and mission-aligned partners to help form a comprehensive, statewide grassroots working coalition focused on rural health outcomes.

Public information and updates will be available in the very near future. Access to working groups, tool demonstrations, and execution sprints will be coordinated through a structured participation process to ensure focus and impact.

To learn more or request to participate:
rise25in25.org
info@rise25in25.org
405-500-1875

About the Oklahoma Rise 25 in 25 RHTP Task Force:
The Oklahoma Rise 25 in 25 RHTP Task Force is an independent, privately hosted collaborative convening Oklahoma healthcare leaders, operators, and innovators to support mission-critical outcomes for rural healthcare transformation. The Task Force is hosted by Rise 25 in 25 and MCOK at the Oklahoma City Innovation Lab.

About the Musculoskeletal Consortium of Oklahoma (MCOK):
MCOK is spearheading a bold, metrics-driven campaign—the “RISE 25 in 25 Initiative”—to elevate Oklahoma’s healthcare ranking from 49th to 25th by 2050. Anchored in urgency, the consortium, co-founded by physician leaders and health industry visionaries, is deploying tangible results-oriented interventions. By uniting healthcare providers, payers, educators, policymakers, businesses, and tribal nations, MCOK rejects complacency in favor of transformational collaboration—with a near-term target of advancing to the top 40 within five years and the long-term goal of achieving top-25 performance.

Disclaimer
The Oklahoma Rise 25 in 25 RHTP Task Force is an independent group and is not a government agency. It does not administer or allocate CMS or State grant funding. It exists to convene stakeholders and accelerate execution capacity in support of rural health outcomes.

Contact Information:
Oklahoma Rise 25 in 25 Foundation
Gabbey Raglin
405-500-1875
Contact via Email
Rise25in25.org

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