The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $42.3 million to help rural residents gain access to health care and educational opportunities. The $42.3 million in awards includes $24 million provided through the CARES Act. In total, these investments will benefit five million rural residents.
“USDA is helping rural America build back better using technology as a cornerstone to create more equitable communities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “With health care and education increasingly moving to online platforms, the time is now to make historic investments in rural America to improve quality of life for decades to come.”
USDA is funding 86 projects through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant program. The program includes broadband purchases to help rural education and health care entities remotely reach students, patients and outside expertise. USDA highlighted investments in 34 states.
Those are:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. Grants were also made to: American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
In Georgia, the Morehouse School of Medicine Inc. will use a $997,194 grant to purchase interactive telecommunications, distance learning and telemedicine equipment. Equipment will be installed in service hubs in two counties in west-central Georgia. It will be used to provide a variety of health care services to residents in underserved rural areas of nine counties.
In New Hampshire, the Fall Mountain Regional School District is receiving a $995,158 grant. It will provide distance learning services in Cheshire and Sullivan counties. Distance learning will enable schools to share instructional resources, provide cultural literacy and career pathways programs for students, and provide professional development opportunities. The grant will also help the district respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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