WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) announce that the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA-RD) has awarded $390,115 to Crisfield Clinic, LLC, to establish new telemedicine health centers in six rural schools in Somerset County. The new telemedicine health centers in schools across the county will help connect kids and families in rural communities with quality health care.

“Schools in Somerset County help kids learn and grow. But when a student gets sick, it’s tough for kids to catch up, for parents to take off of work and for teachers to meet students’ needs,” Senator Mikulski said. “These funds in the federal checkbook combined with Maryland’s cutting edge broadband technology will help keep kids healthy, safe and learning in our schools. Through investments in telemedicine, we can provide quality health care directly to rural schools and communities keeping kids in the classroom and parents on the job.”

“No matter where you live, parents deserve the peace of mind that comes with knowing their child can access quality healthcare at school,” said Senator Cardin. “Projects like this shrink the divide between rural and urban. This innovative USDA-RD project helps overcome some of the unique challenges faced by rural schools seeking to ensure healthy lifestyles for their students.”

Crisfield Clinic, LLC will use these federal dollars to establish  new health centers in six rural schools though its telemedicine Connecting Resources Across Barriers (CRAB) project. CRAB will use videoconferencing to connect two primary care clinics in Crisfield and six Somerset County schools with one another and the hub site, University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) for access to primary and specialty care as well as community health training.

Local schools included in the project are Ewell School, Carter G. Woodson Elementary, Crisfield Academy & High School, Somerset Intermediate School, Greenwood Elementary and Princess Anne Elementary.