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A new federal program launching next year is designed to help hospitals struggling to stay afloat in rural places.

About 360 rural hospitals across the U.S. are at immediate risk of closing because of severe financial problems, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.

That's why the National Rural Health Resource Center is launching the federal Rural Hospital Stabilization Pilot Program.

Alyssa Meller is the center's chief operating officer. She said the program will offer technical assistance for up to two years, to an initial cohort of eight hospitals, and virtual community support to 12 more.

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"It is a program that's aiming to improve the health care in rural communities by really helping keep health-care services available locally," said Meller, "to increase patient volume and improve revenue."

Meller said the program will help engage the hospitals' communities to promote services, too. The application period opened Wednesday and closes January 15.

Meller said several things contribute to hospitals' financial woes - including when residents bypass local services and opt to go elsewhere, fixed costs that exceed reimbursement rates from Medicare and Medicaid, and a lack of services tailored to meet community needs, leading to operating losses.

"And so this program then will help stabilize their current service line," said Meller, "but also will help them dive into what is needed at that local level and provide technical assistance and support."

Meller said that as of Friday, about 300 hospitals were registered for Wednesday's virtual informational session.