Investment to Help to with Essential Community Healthcare Services
The Trump Administration announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $50,000 to support healthcare services, in particular COVID-19 testing equipment in Wray, Colorado.
“Rural America relies on safe, modern community facilities and equipment to ensure access to quality health care,” said Sallie Clark, USDA Rural Development Colorado State Director. “The quick response time of these tests will help to identify and control the incidence of this disease in the community.”
In Wray, the hospital district will use a $50,000 Community Facilities Grant to purchase a new and larger lab analyzer to prevent and limit community spread of COVID-19. Wray Community Hospital District plans to perform in house, rapid testing, within 45 minutes, for COVID-19.
The district will replace their current equipment with a Cepheid® GeneXpert® analyzing system equipped with 12 testing bays. The GeneXpert® uses Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing and will allow for the determination of whether the DNA of a specific bacteria or virus is present in a specimen.
“Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, USDA has been working tirelessly to be a strong partner to rural Colorado in building stronger and healthier communities, because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives,” said Clark.
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 and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information in Colorado, visit www.rd.usda.gov/co.