NASHVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 7, 2020 - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $72 million in grants to help rural residents gain access to health care and educational opportunities. These investments will benefit more than 12 million rural residents. Tennessee Rural Development State Director Jim Tracy is pleased to announce more than $2 million in funding will benefit residents of rural west Tennessee.
“The expansion of rural education and health care access significantly advances the quality of life for students and residents,” Tracy said. “Today’s investments will allow citizen’s in rural areas to take advantage of telemedicine and distance learning opportunities that would otherwise not be available.”
Background:
USDA is funding 116 projects through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant program. The program helps health care and education institutions buy the equipment and software necessary to deploy distance-learning and telemedicine services to rural residents.
Perdue announced investments today in Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Here are examples of projects announced today in Tennessee:
- The American Health Companies, Inc. will use a $402,793 grant to help fund the installation of telehealth equipment at five rural skilled nursing facilities. The new computers and video collaboration system will improve the hiring process for potential employees resulting in lower staff vacancies. The Certified Nursing Assistant program will use the computerized training system. The new equipment will also support the Relias learning system by giving staff access to the educational programs. The participating hubs/end-user sites are all skilled nursing homes that are Medicare and Medicaid certified, providing long-term care and short-term rehabilitation for residents of the rural communities.
- The Tipton County School District will use a $976,742 grant deploy an interactive distance learning network to students living in Tipton County. The network will allow real-time connection to teachers, special educators, counselors, remote classrooms, post-secondary institutions, as well as educational and cultural venues offering virtual field trip opportunities.
- The Carey Counseling Center, Inc. will use a $328,433 grant provide mental health services in eight locations within six rural counties of northwest Tennessee. The project will enable residents of rural northwest Tennessee to see their mental health professional even if they are not located in their local office that day. This opens more appointment times since the practitioner can see clients from other locations.
- Carroll County Schools will use a $297,439 grant to enable the school system to bring distance learning for alternative school environments, dual credit and dual enrollment course offerings from colleges and universities. It will also provide quality educators if there is a shortage of qualified teachers. Additionally, it will provide telemedicine for the school nurse to properly diagnose illnesses and support low-income families.
To learn more about investment resources for rural areas, interested parties should contact their USDA Rural Development state office. USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/tn.
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