COLUMBIA, Mo. — The US Department of Agriculture is investing over $500,000 in two distance learning and telemedicine projects in Missouri.
USDA is providing the funding through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant program, which helps fund projects to get rural residents medical care no matter how far away they are from their doctor.
Mercy Virtual will use a $496,349 grant to enable Mercy ACO Clinical Services to implement a telemedicine project. Video equipment will be placed in nine communities in ten Missouri counties. Over 210,000 community residents will be served.
Salem Memorial District Hospital will use an $80,604 grant to implement technology necessary to connect rural Missouri schools in Dent, Reynolds, Iron, and Shannon Counties to affiliated hospitals Phelps Health Hospital and SSM Health in St. Louis. Using HIPAA compliant audio-visual software and hardware, the project will increase accessibility and quality of healthcare service for 2,297 rural Missouri students.
