USDA Awards $23M for Rural Telehealth Projects in Calif., Other States
On Thursday, USDA announced 75 projects in California and 30 other states are receiving a combined $23.4 million in funding through the Rural Development department's Distance Learning and Telemedicine program, FierceHealthIT reports.
USDA since 2009 has awarded more than $213 million for distance learning and telemedicine in rural areas, including $8.6 million for rural telehealth projects in 2014 (Hall, FierceHealthIT, 11/20).
Details of Awards
The largest grant awarded in USDA's latest funding round was $500,000 to the Technical College of Georgia, which will use the funding to purchase video conferencing equipment for 14 sites.
Funding also was awarded to two projects in California:
- $222,244 to the Adventist Health System-West to purchase telemedicine equipment for 11 sites; and
- $240,650 to the Imperial County Office of Education Foundation to purchase video conferencing equipment for Imperial Valley College and nine other sites.
The awards are contingent upon recipients meeting the terms of the grant agreement (USDA release, 11/19).
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