USDA www.usda.gov has awarded $4.7 million in Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/distance-learning-telemedicine-grants grants to support eleven distance learning and seven telemedicine projects that have now been added to the 80 DLT projects that were announced in July.
The McLeod Regional Medical Center www.mcleodhealth.org will receive $420,092 in funding to connect doctors in Florence South Carolina to seven mental and primary healthcare centers throughout the state. Six of the centers are in counties served by USDA’s StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity Initiative. This initiative enables USDA staff to work with state, local, and community officials to promote the economy in rural areas.
Other grants involving healthcare include:
- East Central Mississippi Health Network http://echealthnet.com in AL and MS.—($125,577) to install interactive audio/video equipment to connect a central hub and 15 end-user sites in Mississippi and 3 end-user sites in Alabama
- Baxter County Regional Hospital www.baxterregional.org in Arkansas—($320,538) to provide a telehealth management program to include remote patient monitoring and a free 24/7 nurse help line
- Landon Pediatric Foundation www.landonpediatricfoundation.org—($221,230) to equip rural hospitals and clinics with telemedical carts that will connect them with specialists throughout the state
- Delta Health Alliance http://deltahealthalliance.org—($396,530) to enable the Alliance to partner with five rural health clinics to purchase electronic equipment and provide training for personnel
- Charles Cole Memorial Hospital www.colememorial.org—($50,336) to deploy a telemedicine project to connect nine rural health clinics and wellness centers in PA and two orthopedic centers in NY
- Ministry Health Care http://ministryhealth.org—($432,258) will expand the advanced practice nurse practitioners telemedicine program to clinics in western and eastern Wisconsin. The project will enable the nurse practitioners to communicate with physicians through one hub and 15 end user sites