U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Oklahoma State Director Kenneth Corn announced today Rural Development is now inviting applications for grants to help people in rural and Tribal communities access remote education and health care.
USDA is making approximately $60 million in funding available under the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program. This program funds distance learning and telemedicine services, like audio and video equipment, to digitally connect people to education, training and health care resources that are limited or unavailable in remote parts of the country. Schools, healthcare authorities and tribal organizations across Oklahoma received more than $8 million in grant funding last year, which helped improve access to healthcare and improved educational services across the state.
“President Biden is utilizing programs through USDA like this DLT grant, which can bring transformational change to a rural region in Oklahoma through healthcare or education,” Corn said. “Just this past year we have seen these grants bring worldclass surgical specialty care to residents of the Oklahoma Panhandle. And in another example, recipients in Eastern Oklahoma are getting the benefits of bringing career building STEM classes to rural classrooms and preserving Cherokee heritage through language courses.”
Eligible applicants include state and local governmental entities, federally recognized Tribes, nonprofits and for-profit businesses. Examples of successful applicants from last year include:
- Homecare Advisors, LLC., $86,657
- Lighthouse Behavioral Wellness Centers, Inc., $1 million
- University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, $861,190
- Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, $558,110
- Southwestern Oklahoma State University, $899,427
- Cherokee Nation, $1 million
- Paul B Jacob, $152,224
- Oklahoma Public School Resource Center, Inc., $995,779
- Western Oklahoma State College, $919,387
- Coal County General Hospital, $655,982
- McAlester Regional Health Center Authority, $999,882
“These grants are critical to rural communities, as the services they provide allow families who want to stay in rural Oklahoma to do so and have meaningful access to the healthcare and educational services residents in the metro areas already have,” Corn said. “President Biden believes in the rebuilding of rural America infrastructure and prosperity because it shouldn’t matter what your zip code says. Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration we are seeing the fruits of these investments like DLT grants rebuild Oklahoma from the bottom up and middle out.”
Applications must be submitted electronically through grants.gov no later than April 29, 2024. Additional program information is available online and via the Feb. 29, 2024, Federal Register