New telehealth technology is on the way to rural hospitals across eastern South Dakota.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program has committed more than $1 million to equip health care facilities from Milbank to Gregory with virtual nursing tools to allow time-consuming patient care tasks to be done remotely. And according to Avera Health, which was awarded the federal grant to expand its RURAL-UP initiative, the support will free up bedside nurses to focus on direct care in areas where staffing is stretched thin.
