USDA awards $74 million in grants to socially vulnerable areas

NEWS RELEASE (KCBD) - The United States Department of Agriculture today announced $74 million in grants to improve health care facilities in rural towns across the nation.

The funds were made available through the Emergency Rural Health Care Grants, a program included in the American Rescue Plan Act proposed by the Biden-Harris Administration and passed by congress in March 2021.

The $75 million in grants includes $32 million for 67 rural health care organizations that will aid more than 1 million people in socially vulnerable communities. In total, the grants will help 143 rural health care organizations for 3 million people in 37 states, Guam and Puerto Rico.

The investments announced today will expand health care services in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

“Under the leadership of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, USDA is committed to making sure that people, no matter where they live, have access to high-quality and reliable health care services like urgent care, primary care, and dental care,” Xochitl Torres Small, Rural Development Under Secretary for the USDA said. “Having sustainable and accessible health care infrastructure in rural areas is critical to the health and well-being of the millions of people living in small towns across the Nation.”

Health care providers in rural communities in states already eligible for funding can find more information/apply through the Rural Development’s Community Facilities Program.