Rural Development - Georgia: USDA Invests $42 Million in Distance Learning and Telemedicine Infrastructure to Improve Education and Health Outcomes insurancenewsnet.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from insurancenewsnet.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Rural residents are more vulnerable and have seen higher COVID-19 infection rates, according to recent research released by the Rural Policy Research Institute’s Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis. During a media call Thursday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack shared that the researchers found infection and death rates in rural America due to COVID-19 are 13.4% higher than in urban areas.
“The virus has hit all of us but hit rural America in a very specific and hard way,” Vilsack says. He attributes this to a number of factors including lack of health insurance, lack of access to health facilities and a higher percentage of underlying conditions.
USDA Funding Distance Learning and Telemedicine Projects for 5M Rural Residents Posted on Share
Home » USDA Funding Distance Learning and Telemedicine Projects for 5M Rural Residents
The USDA said it is investing $42.3 million to help provide 5 million rural Americans with better access to health care and educational opportunities. The investment comes through the USDA Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program.
The USDA says that $24 million of the total will be provided through the CARES Act.
The USDA says that rural areas are seeing higher infection and mortality rates from COVID-19 due to a much higher percentage of underlying conditions, difficulty accessing medical care and lack of health insurance.