The Center for Disease Control has awarded $3 million to the Oklahoma State University Center for Rural Health to improve access to rural healthcare, KWTV reported March 28.
The funds will go toward scholarships, telemedicine and rural health programs.
The scholarships will support rural and tribal medical-track students and physician assistant students at Tulsa, Okla.-based OSU Center for Health Sciences in order to create a pipeline of providers in rural areas.
Telehealth initiatives will provide healthcare, youth mental health training, tele-nutrition services in areas that are considered food deserts, water testing and filtration solutions if needed, as well as virtual hotspots to increase broadband access for these services.
"There are no specialty physicians in rural areas," Denna Wheeler, PhD, executive director for OSU Center for Rural Health, told the news outlet. "There are few primary care [providers], but there are no specialty [physicians], so we rely on telehealth to deliver specialty services in rural areas. So, we offer through grant funding free or low cost telehealth equipment when needed."
Medical students receiving the scholarships will be exposed to rural areas to have a greater understanding of the health adversities patients there face.
"In our rural medical track, our third- and fourth-year medical students do the majority of their clinical training in rural areas, in these rural and underserved areas. So, they are very familiar, they become very familiar with the challenges," Dr. Wheeler told KWTV.