Vermont is the beneficiary of more than $500,000 in federal funding to improve health care and education in the northern part of the state. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Thrusday that 100 recipients in 34 states and one territory will receive $30,172,507 to improve access to health care and educational services in rural areas. Funding is provided through the USDA Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Program. The announcement included a $499,870 grant to North Country Supervisory Union in Newport, VT and an $84,141 grant to Orleans-Essex VNA & Hospice also in Newport.
‘This program delivers educational and medical opportunities that are urgently needed in remote, rural areas,’ Vilsack said. ‘President Obama has said that no matter where you live in America, you should have access to quality educational opportunities. Rural Americans deserve the same opportunities for education and medical care as metropolitan-area residents, and these funds will make that happen.’
Orleans-Essex VNA & Hospice, which provides home health care to a 1,000 square mile area in Orleans and northern Essex counties, will use the grant to continue implementation of in-home telemonitoring which was initiated in 2009. An upgrade to the system will also expand the use of in-home videocams to monitor wound care.
North Country Supervisory Union will support the Northeast Kingdom Education Project that will link Lyndon State College (LSC) to 14 rural school districts primarily located in Orleans, Essex Counties. Expanded videoconferencing technology at LSC will enhance their ability to offer dual enrollment courses in which high school students take college courses for both college and high school credit; provide information for students on the range of career opportunities available within key industries in the Northeast Kingdom and provide Masters in Education degree programs to the region’s teachers.
‘Through this grant program, USDA Rural Development is working to level the playing field between rural and more urban areas. Vermonters in the most remote locations will have access to advanced medical care and top notch educational opportunities because of these funds,’ according to Molly Lambert, State Director for USDA Rural Development.
Further details on the DLT program can be obtained at www.rurdev.usda.gov/UTP_DLT.html
or by contacting Rhonda Shippee, Community Programs Director for VT/NH at 802-828-6033. For a complete list of awardees that will receive funding, please click here
Awards are contingent upon the recipients meeting the terms of the agreement with USDA.
USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, administers and manages housing, business and community infrastructure and facility programs through a national network of state and local offices. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America. Rural Development has a portfolio of more than $160 billion in loans and loan guarantees. Visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ for additional information about the agency's programs or to locate a USDA Rural Development office.
WASHINGTON, December 8, 2011 ‘