USDA https://usda.gov is investing $42.5 million in 133 projects through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant program in 37 states and two U.S. territories. This investment in rural communities will benefit 5.4 million residents. Applicants eligible for DLT grants include most state and local governmental entities, federally-recognized tribes, nonprofits, and for-profit businesses.
A number of the grant awards focus on behavioral health and mental health services. A sample of the DLT investments in telemedicine include:
- The University of Alabama Birmingham received $391,983 to implement an eMedicine Telehealth Outreach project for three hospitals to serve 159,000 residents
- PanCare of Florida Inc. received $489,204 to provide primary care, behavioral health, and opioid counseling for children and youth to help 5,170 students
- The Corporation of Mercer University of Georgia received $403,332 to link ten project sites in eight counties to a high-definition telehealth and remote monitoring program to provide behavioral and mental healthcare services
- The Pikesville Medical Center received $357,167 to equip ten public schools with mobile telehealth carts, exam cameras, and equipment to connect to the medical center which will benefit a population estimated at 476,087
- The CentraCare Health System in Minnesota received $234,648 to use telemedicine to address the rural shortage of specialty care physicians in nine central Minnesota counties
- Benefits Hospital Inc. received $301,547 to improve access to specialty medical care for rural residents in central Montana counties through the REACH Montana Telehealth Network. Wireless networking capabilities will be updated and five rural facilities will receive additional wireless access points
- Nevada Health Centers, Inc. received $489,070 to implement a telemedicine project to deliver primary care including remote pharmacy services to rural residents
- Geisinger Clinic received $486,287 to implement telemedicine to increase access to specialty care to include care for the chronically ill and children suffering from asthma
- The Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust received $489,699 to implement a telemedicine program to help remote rural communities recover from hurricanes
- The University of Virginia received $397,668 to implement the Virginia Telemedicine Network for Cardio-Metabolic Disease, Opioid Use Disorder, Ophthalmology, Black Lung Disease, and Cancer. The university will serve as the hub spoke site to deliver healthcare and training to 19 community healthcare providers in 12 counties
- Cabell Huntington Hospital Foundation received $206,000 to establish a tele-stroke and tele-oncology network between Cabell Huntington Hospital and the hub spoke sites in rural Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia
Go to https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/distance-learning-telemedicine-grants for more information on USDA DLT grants.
Go to https://rd.usda.gov/files/USDARD_DLT_CHART112019.pdf for more details on the complete list of grants.