Big Idea

• The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $72M to help rural residents gain access to health care & educational opportunities
• 116 projects through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant program
• Rural Arizona will receive over 1M in grants to develop telemedicine networks
• Cochise Technology District will receive a $155K Mental and Social Health Distance Learning Project for rural Cochise County
• Read more…

Rural Arizona has been awarded over $1M in grants for telemedicine and educational projects

WASHINGTON, 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.

“Increasing access to telemedicine and distance learning is critical to building healthier and more resilient rural communities,” said Secretary Sonny Perdue. “Paired with our monumental effort to expand high-speed broadband access in rural America, these investments will help rural health care centers and education institutions reach more rural residents with essential services and opportunities. Under the leadership of President Trump, USDA is committed to being a strong partner to rural communities because when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.”

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, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Here are projects in Arizona announced today:

• Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center (CVRMC) is receiving a $744,452 grant to develop a telemedicine network through its medical centers covering the rural communities of Globe, Kearny, Superior, Young and Tonto Basin, in addition to its main campus. Telemedicine capability would be added to emergency medical services (EMS) within the Gila and Pinal counties to better serve the healthcare needs of the more than 44,500 residents. The proposed telemedicine network will enable CVRMC to maximize scarce health care resources available in this rural service region to deliver high quality stroke care, chronic care management, preventive care services, opioid and other drug treatment, and health education.

•  Cochise Technology District will use a $155,407 grant to assist with funding the Mental and Social Health Distance Learning Project for rural Cochise County and eastern Santa Cruz County Schools. The project will provide students with the technology to access college-level mental and social health courses.

• Benson Hospital will use a $377,494 grant to launch a new telemedicine project in Cochise, Graham, and Greenlee counties. Interactive TeleHealth stations will be deployed at 11 sites to remotely provide tele-medicine services to rural residents within the service area.  

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.