The US Department of Agriculture announced new grant investments for infrastructure aimed at expanding education and healthcare access among rural US residents. The entire grant consists of 133 grants totaling $42.5 million, and are spread across 37 states and two US territories.

Among the substantive projects are:

A $460,820 grant to Kentucky-based Owensboro Health to install telemedicine equipment across 10 sites.

A $457,605 grant to Indiana University Health for the installation of telemedicine equipment in six primary care officers and seven critical access hospitals, for the delivery of opioid treatment, and behavioral health services.

A $403,332 grant for the Georgia’s Mercer University to provide a remote behavioral health monitoring program across 10 sites.

A $496,349 grant to Mercy Virtual that will bring video telemedicine equipment to nine multi-state sites.

Each project is supposed to provide remote health services to tens of thousands of residents living in remote areas, according to the USDA. These grants are the latest initiatives from the federal government to improve rural healthcare access via telemedicine.

The FCC has spent last couple of years pushing forward a $100 million initiative to provide a major discount to providers establishing broadband-based telehealth programs.

The Department of Veterans Affairs, meanwhile, has been supportive of telehealth technologies, and boasts a number of healthcare wins tied to these programs.

USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald LaVoy said, distance learning and telemedicine make it convenient for many rural residents to take advantage of economic, health care and educational opportunities without travelling long distances. He also said that under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary [Sonny] Perdue, USDA is committed to partnering with rural communities to improve their quality of life, because when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.