NASHVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 22, 2021 - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a significant expansion of access to high-speed internet, health care and educational services for millions of rural Americans nationwide. Today’s announcement continues to move forward President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda by prioritizing economic growth in rural America and investing in the backbone of our country – the middle class.
“For too long, the ‘digital divide’ has left too many people living in rural communities behind: unable to compete in the global economy and unable to access the services and resources that all Americans need,” Vilsack said. “As we build back better than we were before, the actions I am announcing today will go a long way toward ensuring that people who live or work in rural areas are able to tap into the benefits of broadband, including access to specialized health care, educational opportunities and the global marketplace. Rural people, businesses and communities must have affordable, reliable, high-speed internet so they can fully participate in modern society and the modern economy.”
Background: Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants
Vilsack also announced today a $50 million investment in 105 rural distance learning and telemedicine projects in 37 states and Puerto Rico. These awards are being funded through USDA’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program. This program helps fund distance learning and telemedicine services in rural areas to increase access to education, training and health care resources that are otherwise limited or unavailable.
In Tennessee:
- Benton County Board of Education will receive a $385,258 grant to assist in the purchase of interactive video conferencing equipment that will provide distance learning services for high school, middle school, and elementary school students in nine rural schools. It will enable access to quality tele-education, dual enrollment college level access to courses, technology education services as it reduces the costs for transportation and other educational barriers for students throughout the district. Approximately 2,100 students will gain access to distance learning through this project.
- University Health System Inc. will receive a $534,334 grant to enhance remote delivery of primary and specialty care, with special emphasis on mental health and substance abuse services by connecting ten end-user sites, across seven rural counties of Eastern Tennessee, with the University of Tennessee Medical Center network based out of Knoxville. Funding will be used to purchase interactive telecommunication equipment and software designed to better service the surrounding rural residents of the Eastern Tennessee region. It is expected that over 14,000 rural residents will benefit from the increased access made available through this telehealth project.
- University of Tennessee at Martin will receive a $278,831 grant to purchase distance learning equipment that will connect the University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM) and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHC) to multiple sites throughout West Tennessee. This distance learning grant will comer a diverse array of health-related topics and experiences, including dual-enrollment programming, summer programs, professional and teacher development, telemedicine, and substance abuse education and treatment. The project will offer increased educational opportunities to the 26,000 residents of the communities that house the end-user sites.
- Weakley County Schools will receive a $358,905 grant to provide distance learning in Weakley County, Tenn. The project will provide over 2,700 students with access to quality tele-education, dual enrollment college level access to courses, technology education services, and will reduce the costs for transportation and other educational barriers for students throughout the district.
- Corizon Health Inc. will receive a $967,356 grant to facilitate the delivery of health services including substance abuse treatment and mental health treatment to prison inmate populations in Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, and Wyoming. An estimated 90,000 incarcerated individuals will be provided with point-of-care behavioral health services through video conferencing by psychiatric professionals and medical professionals at end-user sites.
- Mountain States Health Alliance will receive a $298,100 grant to expand access to Behavioral Health, Urgent Care and Specialty Care in Rural Appalachia through Mountain States Health Alliance. All telemedicine visits will be conducted on a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliant platform using VisuWell which is the approved telemedicine platform for the entire health system. The sites comprise 33 rural Primary Care Offices and Urgent Care locations throughout the Mountain States service area in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia in southern and central Appalachia. An estimated 33,000 patients will benefit from the telemedical care available due to this project.
For additional information on the upcoming ReConnect Program funding opportunity, see the Oct. 22, 2021, Federal Register. Once the application window opens, applications must be submitted through USDA Rural Development’s online application system on the ReConnect webpage. All required materials for completing an application are included in the online system.
Background: ReConnect Program
Secretary Vilsack spoke about USDA’s commitment to helping rural Americans get improved access to broadband and health care during a visit to the newly renovated emergency department at Hammond Henry Hospital. The project was financed in part by a USDA loan.
He announced that on November 24 USDA will begin accepting applications for up to $1.15 billion in loans and grants to expand the availability of broadband in rural areas. USDA is making the funding available through the ReConnect Program.
To be eligible for ReConnect Program funding, an applicant must serve an area without broadband service at speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) (download) and 20 Mbps (upload), and commit to building facilities capable of providing broadband service at speeds of 100 Mbps (download and upload) to every location in its proposed service area. In making funding decisions, USDA will prioritize projects that will serve low-density rural areas with locations lacking internet access services at speeds of at least 25 Mbps (download) and 3 Mbps (upload). In making funding decisions, the USDA will also consider, among other things, the economic needs of the community to be served; the extent to which a provider will offer affordable service options; a project’s commitment to strong labor standards; and whether a project is serving tribal lands or is submitted by a local government, Tribal Government, non-profit or cooperative.
USDA has simplified the application process and has expanded the program significantly. For example, ReConnect will now offer 100 percent grants for certain projects on tribal lands and in socially vulnerable communities.
The Department plans to make available up to $200 million in ReConnect Program loans, up to $250 million in loan/grant combinations, up to $350 million in grants with a 25 percent matching requirement, and up to $350 million in grants with no matching requirement for projects in tribal and socially vulnerable communities.
To learn more about ReConnect Program eligibility, technical assistance and recent announcements, visit www.usda.gov/reconnect.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, 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. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
###
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.