DES MOINES The Nov. 20 celebration of National Rural Health Day acknowledges the power of Rural America,

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said. He announced 65 Rural Development Distance Learning and Telemedicine grants worth more than $20 million.

The projects will improve the delivery of health care and educational services in rural areas across 34 states by bringing programs to rural communities that often do not have access to quality, affordable medical and educational services has tremendous economic and social benefits, Vilsack said in a news release.

Of those 65 projects, 31 are health care related, totaling $8.6 million.The grant announcement is the latest in a series of USDA Rural Development investments in health information technology, following a collaborative agreement in 2011 with the Department of Health and Human Services.

We have been working closely with the USDA Rural Development in Iowa since 2012 to help Critical Access Hospitals and rural hospitals serving Iowas rural and poor communities access financing to support their telehealth and health information exchange needs, said Leila Samy, Rural Health IT Coordinator, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).

The collaboration between ONC and USDA Rural Development started in Iowa but has now spread to more than a dozen states, with both agencies targeting rural hospitals and clinics with information on programs that can assist with funding for health IT.

In those states where the collaboration is occurring, we have seen investments of nearly $40 million in health IT, said USDA Rural Development Iowa State Director Bill Menner.

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USDA funds to support rural health care, education