USDA Announces Latest Round of Telemedicine, Distance Learning Grants

Some 46 telehealth programs across the country will receive funding in the latest round of Distant Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grants from the US Department of Agriculture.

In all, the USDA is investing $42.3 million, including $24 million in CARES Act funds, to 86 programs in 34 states, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa. The funding will go toward a wide range of connected health programs as well as programs to expand educational opportunities in schools through online platforms.

Both categories are in high demand as the nation deals with the coronavirus pandemic, which has curtailed both in-person healthcare and education and compelled providers, schools and communities to develop virtual care and learning services.

“The coronavirus pandemic is a national emergency that requires a historic federal response,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press release. “USDA is helping rural America build back better using technology as a cornerstone to create more equitable communities. With health care and education increasingly moving to online platforms, the time is now to make historic investments in rural America to improve quality of life for decades to come.”

Among the programs using DLT funds for telehealth are:

• The University of Alabama, which is getting $916,948 to enhance a telemedicine network linking 23 ambulances and seven hospitals in eight rural; counties in west-central Alabama;
• The American Samoa Medical Center Authority, which is getting $677,675 to launch a maternal telehealth program connecting island providers with specialists at the University of Hawai’i in Honolulu;
• NOVA Southeastern University in Florida, which is getting $194,222 to enhance a platform that offers virtual training to providers and medical students in underserved Florida counties;
• The Island Eye Center on Guam, which is getting $742,547 to develop a telehealth platform to research, diagnose and treat eye conditions, including diabetic retinopathy, in patients in rural clinics;
• Lewis University in Illinois, which is getting $169,285 to create a telehealth platform linking 18 elementary and secondary schools to specialists in speech-language pathology, communication disorders, occupational therapy and mental health counseling;
• The Morton County Health System in Kansas, which is getting $131,619 to expand a telehealth platform serving 144,000 residents in rural parts of Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas;
• The St. Joseph Hospital Foundation in Kentucky, which is getting $869,604 to develop a telehealth platform connecting five rural hospitals, 15 medical practices and two home health agencies with specialists to treat patients with acute and chronic conditions;
• The University of Maine Health System, which is getting $1 million to install telemedicine and interactive learning platforms at 42 locations around the state to expand education opportunities for students and help rural health clinics expand access to care for rural and remote patients;
• The Delta Regional Medical Center in Mississippi, which is getting $995,958 to expand a telehealth network in rural parts of the state connecting six schools, two pharmacies, two grocery stores, two businesses, a county correctional facility, a community health clinic and a skilled nursing facility, all part of a regional physician residency program launched in July 2020 to eventually connect with at least 10,000 rural residents;
• SSM Health Care St. Louis in Missouri, which is getting $665,000 to create a telehealth network linking SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital to six rural clinics to expand access to obstetric and neonatal services;
• Ohio Valley Physicians, which is getting $429,841 to expand a telehealth platform providing care to residents in parts of Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio and Virginia;
• Clinica Las Americas of Guaynabo, which is getting $694,110 to expand its telehealth platform to 46 sites in 13 municipalities across Puerto Rice; and
• The North County Hospital Health Center in Vermont, which is getting $994,326 to create a telehealth platform, including telemedicine carts and remote patient monitoring services, serving more than 64,000 residents of two rural counties.