1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act . 2. Codification of the Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program of the Department of Agriculture (a) In general In lieu of any other authority under which the Secretary of Agriculture (in this section referred to as the Secretary ) may provide technical assistance to any eligible rural hospital facility, the Secretary shall establish, and maintain, directly or by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, a Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program (in this section referred to as the Program ) to provide technical assistance and training, tailored to the capacity and needs of each eligible hospital facility, to help eligible hospital facilities in rural areas with a population of not more than 50,000 inhabitants— (1) identify development needs for maintaining essential health care services, and support action plans for financial, operational, and quality improvement projects to meet the development needs; (2) better manage their financial and business strategies; and (3) identify, and apply for assistance from, loan and grant programs of the Department of Agriculture for which the facilities are eligible. (b) Goals The goals of the Program shall be to— (1) improve the long-term financial position and operational efficiency of eligible rural hospital facilities; (2) prevent the closure of eligible rural hospital facilities; (3) strengthen the delivery of health care in rural areas; and (4) help eligible rural hospital facilities better access and compete for loans and grants from programs administered by the Department of Agriculture. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) Development needs The term development needs includes— (A) constructing, expanding, renovating or otherwise modernizing health care facilities; (B) increasing telehealth capabilities; (C) acquiring or upgrading health care information systems such as electronic health records