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At Rural Development, we are working hard to support those selfless individuals and organizations and to help them better serve their communities.

Rural Development has many programs and resources that help rural West Virginia communities improve their health and quality of life. We want to provide health care leaders and organizations with the information they need to take full advantage of these programs.

For example, in Roane County, we are proud long-time partners with Roane General Hospital. Most recently, we invested $4 million through our Community Facilities Program and an Emergency Rural Healthcare Grant to remodel and update the inpatient floor of the hospital and improve patient comfort and safety.

This investment will benefit more than 14,000 West Virginians in Roane County and the surrounding area and ensure that they have access to quality health care close to home.

The USDA is excited to announce the new USDA Rural Health Program Index. This inventory makes it easy for rural community leaders and others to identify which USDA programs and resources can help with specific health needs in their communities.

The index is a curated library of USDA programs and resources that support rural health.

I encourage everyone in rural West Virginia to use the index to find the assistance that�����Ƶ�s right for their community.

The Biden-Harris administration and USDA Rural Development are committed to serving those who live in rural areas, like the small towns and communities so many of us in the Mountain State call home.

Expanding access to quality, affordable health care is essential to creating and sustaining thriving rural communities.

At Rural Development, we work hard to help rural West Virginia communities overcome challenges to health care access. Our programs ensure people have access to locally sourced nutritious foods and that those in remote areas have high-speed internet so they can access telemedicine services when they need them. USDA also partners with communities to build hospitals in rural areas and keep others open during times of financial stress and unforeseen hardships.

One project I�����Ƶ�m particularly proud of is in Cabell County, where we invested nearly $1 million to Cabell Huntington Hospital through our Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant. This investment helped outfit sites throughout Cabell, Lincoln, and Mason counties in southwestern West Virginia and Gallia County in southeastern Ohio with telemedicine equipment.

The equipment will help deliver critical care, neurology, nephrology, endocrine and behavioral/mental health care services to 11 locations benefitting 26,232 individuals.

�����Ƶ I�����Ƶ�ve traveled across West Virginia, visiting our rural communities, I�����Ƶ�ve seen the unique challenges people face accessing the health care resources they need and deserve. I�����Ƶ�ve also seen how the Biden-Harris administration and Rural Development�����Ƶ�s programs have helped meet those needs.

The USDA Rural Health Program Index will contribute to more stories like Roane General Hospital in West Virginia and across the country.

�����Ƶ we celebrated National Rural Health Day, we highlighted all we have done and will continue to do to keep rural West Virginia healthy, because when rural West Virginians thrive, all of America thrives.

Thank you, and remember, when we continue to work together, West Virgina will continue to prosper. You can learn more about our programs by visiting our website or by calling 304-284-4860.