Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced that 11 rural hospitals in the state are receiving $262,000 in grants that will be used on improving telemedicine care. The grant is part of Missouri’s MoBroadbandNow initiative, which aims to greatly expand broadband to reach more homes, businesses, schools, healthcare facilities, and public safety agencies.

"One of the very real benefits of improved broadband service in rural Missouri is in telemedicine - connecting Missourians and their physicians with specialists many miles away who can look at high-resolution images and receive other vital information on a real-time basis to help doctors treat those patients," Nixon said at an event announcing the grant at Dexter at Missouri Southern Healthcare. "Expanded broadband accessibility between healthcare providers will mean access to quicker and more specialized care that is often life-saving for patients."

As part of the initiative, Missouri Southern Healthcare is receiving a grant of up to $25,000 to help increase broadband speed throughout its healthcare system and to expand its connectivity with the clinics. In addition to that grant, Gov. Nixon also announced ten others, most grants equaling that $25,000 amount given to Missouri Southern Healthcare.