U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Kentucky State Director Dr. Tom Carew today announced over $2.3 million in grants awarded to three recipients in Kentucky.
The grants announced today were made through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program and are expected to benefit almost 220,000 rural Kentuckians.
“The COVID-19 pandemic taught us how important telemedicine and distance learning are, especially in rural Kentucky,” said Carew. “These investments will help connect rural Kentuckians with medical professionals, counselors, and educators, and they will ultimately lead to better health outcomes and higher quality of life.”
Lake Cumberland District Health Department will use a $462,285 grant to equip one hub site and 10 end-user sites throughout Adair, Casey, Clinton, Cumberland, Green, McCreary, Pulaski, Russell, Taylor, and Wayne counties with telehealth conferencing equipment. Medical professionals at Lake Cumberland District Health Department will deliver health education, disease case management, and interpretation services benefiting 207,256 individuals.
Green County Board of Education will use a $853,078 grant to equip five hub/end-user sites throughout Green County with distance learning technologies. Instructors at the Green County Board of Education will deliver education to five locations benefitting 4,304 students.
Pike County School District will use a $999,567 grant to equip six hub sites and 14 end-user sites throughout Pike County with a mobile teleconferencing solution fitted to accommodate an industry standard videoconference platform. Instructors, counselors and administrators at Pike County School district will deliver mental health counseling and seminars at all teleconference locations, benefitting 7,700 students and interested community members.
Background – Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program
Grants through this program range from $50,000 to $1 million and can be used to purchase or support:
- Audio, video, and interactive video equipment.
- Broadband facilities used for distance learning or telemedicine (up to a certain percentage).
- Computer hardware, network components, and software.
- Instructional programming.
- Limited technical assistance and instruction on how to use distance learning and telemedicine equipment.
Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans 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, tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
