From Milbank to Gregory, new telehealth tech headed to small-town hospitals
$1M federal grant bolstering Avera Health virtual nursing initiative
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.
