U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $742,904 in Montana to support distance learning and telemedicine projects at the University of Providence and Benefits Hospitals, Inc.
“Expanding access to telemedicine is critical for getting Montanans the health care they need in our rural communities,” Daines said. “This funding will help expand wireless and telehealth services that will improve access to specialty medical care for 164,000 rural Montanans. It will also create a distance learning system to help educate our nurses and nursing students in rural Montana.”
$441,357 will be designated to the University of Providence to install a distance learning system to deliver advanced classes and educate nurses and nursing students in rural Montana. It will help serve an estimated 8,720 students.
$301,547 will be designated to Benefis Hospitals, Inc. to expand wireless and telehealth services through the REACH Montana Telehealth Network that will improve access to specialty medical care for 164,000 rural residents of thirteen north central Montana counties.
For more information on the grants, click HERE.
Stakeholder Support:
“We are very excited to begin our work, and beginning means first acknowledging how we got here. It is much to your credit. As the President at the University of Providence and the primary investigator for the project, we are confident this distance learning telemedicine project will meet its expected goals and outcomes and hopefully exceed our expectations. Thank you for being such an advocate for the health of our rural communities.” – Oliver Doyle, Interim President, University of Providence and Deborah Burton, Vice President of School of Health Professions, University of Providence.
To read the full letter of support, click HERE.
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