$600,000 slated for rural broadband in Nevada

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $40 million in grants nationwide to enhance healthcare access including $603,499 for two Nevada projects.

Phil Cowee, USDA state director for rural development said the grants will improve broadband access in 15 rural counties across the state.

The largest grant is $439,312 for a project developed by the Governor’s Office of Science, Information and Technology working with Renown. The project is for the Telehealth and Healthcare Education Expansion project that will expand healthcare services to 11 sites in eight Nevada rural counties.

The second is an award of $164,137 to the Valley Health project to provide three years of tele-health services to prison patients at seven rural Department of Corrections conservation camps.

“I am especially glad to see that these tele-health services including primary care as well as substance abuse care, treatment and education will now be available in areas that previously had no such services,” said Cowee.