ST. PAUL -- Area hospitals will be linked via a telemedicine network thanks to a $102,100 grant awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development.
The funds will connect 14 southwestern Minnesota hospitals and the Medisota health organization through telemedicine technology. It will benefit 282,000 people served by the health providers in the region, said Steve Wenzel, director of the USDA-Rural Development in Minnesota, in a news release.
The 14 southwestern Minnesota hospitals will be connected via a video-conferencing system that allows face-to-face communications to recruit health care professionals and support patients. The grant will connect the following hospitals:
- Appleton Municipal Hospital
- Chippewa County-Montevideo Hospital
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- Granite Falls Municipal Hospital and Manor
- Johnson Memorial Health Services, Dawson
- Meeker County Memorial Hospital, Litchfield
- Paynesville Area Health Care System
- Sioux Valley Campus, Canby
- Swift County-Benson Hospital
- Hendricks Community Hospital Association
- Johnson Memorial Health Services, Dawson
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- Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center
- Murray County Memorial Hospital, Slayton
- Tracy Area Medical Services
- Madelia Community Hospital.
Wenzel reported that nationwide there were 227 applications for distance learning and telemedicine grants. Only 79 were funded, with Minnesota receiving three of them.
