USDA grant will help Lewis University provide services for residents in rural areas

Lewis University in Romeoville recently received a $169,285 Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The university will use this grant “to purchase videoconferencing systems for 18 elementary and secondary schools across rural, medically underserved regions of western and southern Illinois,” according to a news release from Lewis University.

Clinical therapists in Lewis University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions and College of Education and Social Sciences will be able to provide individual speech therapy, occupational therapy and counseling sessions to rural students from this video conferencing system, according to the release.

Because residents in rural areas often have underlying medical conditions, no health insurance and difficulty accessing medical care, they often have higher infection and death rates from COVID-19, according to the release.

So to help improve both education and health outcomes, the USDA is investing $42 million in distance learning and telemedicine infrastructure, which is expected to benefit approximately 5 million residents in rural areas.

For information about the Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant, visit bit.ly/3vG1aVx.

For information about Lewis University, visit lewisu.edu.