rural

Meg Miller, executive director of the Peabody Senior-Care Home in Franklin, N.H., was elated to hear that the beloved facility was approved for a $26 million loan from USDA Rural Development’s Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program.

Rural areas continue to face unique health care challenges. Among them are a lack of infrastructure, long distances to services, and a qualified health care workforce.

In Rural America, there are many challenges to accessing high-quality healthcare – one of the most significant challenges is physically getting to the locations where a specialist is practicing. Telemedicine is a great tool for rural hospitals, health clinics, and even dental practices to use to help people living in rural areas access the care they need. At USDA Rural Development, we know that increasing access to telemedicine and distance learning in rural America is essential to building healthier and more resilient communities.

Often when we think of rural broadband, we think about how internet access has revolutionized the way Americans consume media, conduct business, learn, and receive medical care via telemedicine. Over the last two decades, USDA has been making significant progress in connecting rural communities to the same telecommunications infrastructure enjoyed by their urban counterparts. However, the untapped potential of high-speed broadband also extends into the new technologies farmers and ranchers use to feed and clothe the world.

In 2018, Mel Curtis, Branch Director of the Moshannon Valley YMCA of Centre County and Pauline Rabb, CEO with Cen-Clear Child Services, joined forces to retrofit a 72-passenger bus with a kitchen and appliances and dubbed it The Travelin’ Table Mobile Feeding Bus. The initiative was created to serve the children of Centre and Clearfield Counties not only with food, but also medical and dental care from Penn State University. In addition, the bus offers educational enrichment and physical activities.

I knew that the delivery of the Hope One Mobile Unit in March was going to be an exciting event. Born out of USDA Rural Development’s (USDA RD) partnership with the Hansen Foundation, the Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office and AtlantiCare, and with the help of a $134,000 Community Facilities Grant in the summer of 2018, Hope One was expected to be staffed by medical and law enforcement personnel who would provide recovery services to people struggling with opioid addiction.

During COVID-19, I’ve been touched to see so many examples of Americans making sacrifices for the health and safety of their fellow citizens. I’m proud to say that rural Virginians also extended helping hands in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to share three such examples of our Rural Development partners who are combining compassion with ingenuity to serve their neighbors.

USDA Rural Development provides opportunities to enhance education in rural communities. We can see these investments throughout the state and I’m proud of the contributions that team South Dakota is making to support education initiatives and so much more.

As the new Acting Administrator for USDA Rural Development’s Rural Housing Service, I know that one of the best parts of working in rural America is the relationships we build with our customers, relationships that often span many years. I was fortunate to see these relationships in action in my most recent role as State Director for Virginia. It’s rewarding to watch a customer’s efforts make an impact on the community they serve. And it’s especially gratifying to see a customer experience dramatic growth and begin serving communities beyond their geographical area. That is the case for the Virginia Foundation for Agriculture, Innovation and Rural Sustainability (VAFAIRS), specifically, their ecommerce program, Lulus Local Food.