Harkin Announces More Than $1.1 Million to Expand Access to Health Care in Rural Communities

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today announced that three Avera Health Services projects have been awarded a total of $1,107,173 to improve communication technologies.  This funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program.  The DLT Grant Program works to provide access to education, training and health care resources in rural areas.  Funding is provided to increase educational opportunities and expand health care.

“Residents of all communities – both rural and urban – deserve access to quality medical care.  By using new technology, we are able to provide people in rural areas with the specialty medical care that many urban residents take for granted,” said Harkin.  “I congratulate Avera Health Services for receiving this competitive funding.”

Harkin is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, as well as the panel that funds rural development initiatives.

The funds will be used as follows:

• $438,561 to assist ten rural hospitals in implementing a telemedicine and distance learning consortium.  Equipment and instruments such as mobile video systems, telephonic stethoscopes, examination cameras, digital mammography, and e-pharmacy automated dispensing units will be installed to enhance their emergency service capabilities. Iowa counties that will benefit include Dickinson, Osceola, and Sioux.
• $220,878 to fund the eConsult telemedicine project which will expand an existing system to connect 51 end-users to 20 Avera specialty clinic sites.  The equipment will enable Native Americans, the elderly and other rural residents without access to specialty care to receive necessary consultations in oncology, pediatrics, neonatology, endocrinology, and gynecology.  Iowa counties that will benefit include Brown, Dickinson, Emmett, Lyon, Osceola, and Sioux.
• $447,734 to fund an expansion of tele-heath consultations, tele-radiology, e-ICU, e-pharmacy, and e-emergency care services to ten small rural clinics.  These services will increase the availability of specialized care and broaden the reach of emergency care departments.  Iowa counties that will benefit include Dickinson, Osceola, and Sioux.

Source: Senator Harkin