USDA Invests in the Expansion of Rural Education and Health Care Access

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing the funding through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant program. These investments will benefit 5.4 million rural residents. Projects include:

• Mississippi State University is receiving a $488,315 grant to update video conferencing and cloud-based equipment in 93 counties. USDA’s investment will enable participants in extension offices and experiment stations to deliver educational programming to interactive audiences. This project will benefit nearly 29,000 Mississippi residents, students, extension educators and faculty.
• In Ohio, the Lisbon Exempted Village School District is receiving a $323,478 grant to create a distance learning network at eight sites in Columbiana County. The district will offer classes and behavioral health services to 850 students.
• Owensboro Health Inc. in Kentucky is receiving a $460,820 grant to install telemedicine equipment at 10 sites in Hopkins, McLean, Muhlenberg and Ohio counties in Kentucky and a site in Perry County, Indiana. This project will provide health care resources to approximately 35,000 residents, including nearly 2,000 patients.

Investments are being made in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.