People, no matter where they live, should have access to high-quality health care services and healthy food to eat.

As we celebrate National Rural Health Day at USDA Rural Development, we affirm once again that a strong community is rooted in its people. The theme “Power of Rural” gives us the opportunity to honor the incredible efforts of rural health care providers, communities, organizations and other individuals dedicated to addressing the unique health care needs of rural America.

USDA works hard to empower health care leaders and organizations with the information they need to take full advantage of our programs that are specifically designed to support rural health needs. In doing so, we help create and sustain economic prosperity for people around the country. 

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

USDA continues to find new ways to help overcome challenges to health care access that are especially prevalent for people living in rural places, Tribal communities and for those who have been underserved for far too long. 

For this reason, we are strengthening our collaborations with partners like the National Rural Health Association to ensure all people in rural areas have access to the care they need. That’s why the Biden-Harris administration recently announced that USDA is partnering with NRHA to help rural hospitals improve performance, prevent further hospital closings and bolster the delivery of health care for rural communities.    

We also have programs to ensure everyone in rural America has access to high-quality and reliable health care services like urgent care, primary care, dental care and more. One example of our efforts is the Emergency Rural Health Care Grants program created by President Biden’s historic legislative package, the American Rescue Plan Act.   

Through these grants, we partner with rural health care organizations to purchase supplies, deliver food assistance, renovate health care facilities and provide people with reliable medical testing and treatment. 

As I’ve traveled across rural parts of the country, I’ve seen the unique challenges people in rural communities face accessing the health care resources they need and deserve. I’ve also seen how the Biden-Harris Administration and USDA programs have helped meet those needs.

For instance, an Emergency Rural Health Care Grant is helping a heart, lung, and vascular specialty hospital in rural New Jersey meet critical care standards necessary for treating very ill and highly infectious patients. Most recently, I had the privilege of seeing how a Distance Learning Telemedicine Grant will soon help a hospital in Oregon connect residents to critical care through a virtual Intensive Care Unit program.

We’re also supporting communities through the Biden-Harris administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Through this landmark legislation, we have been helping rural people tap into the enormous potential of high-speed internet to improve health care through the Reconnect Program.

Since 2021, USDA has announced nearly $2.3 billion for ReConnect projects to expand high-speed internet access to hundreds of thousands of people through broadband loans, grants and loan/grant combinations in 35 states. High-speed internet connects rural people to telemedicine and we know that high-quality health care is one of the most crucial keys to successful rural economic and community development.

We also recognize that people in our country’s most remote communities lack access to healthy foods. Recent supply chain disruptions have made access even more challenging and have shown just how critical it is to invest in the agricultural supply chain right here at home. 

That’s why we remain committed to creating local and regional food systems that benefit all Americans, from farmers and ranchers to small businesses and families who currently need to travel far from home to find fresh, nutritious food.   

Through programs like the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, USDA partners with the Reinvestment Fund to bring healthy food options closer to home for underserved rural, urban, and tribal communities all over this nation.

And programs like the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program, the Meat and Poultry Intermediary Relending Program, and the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program help USDA create stronger food supply chains that benefit American producers, meat and poultry processors and consumers.  

USDA Rural Development is a partner that invests in keeping rural people healthy. Join us this Thursday, National Rural Health Day, as we celebrate the power of rural.  Because, when rural people thrive, all of America thrives.

You can learn more about our programs by visiting our website.

Farah Ahmad is the deputy undersecretary for rural development at USDA.

For more ag news and opinion pieces, visit Agri-Pulse.com.