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***United States Department of Agriculture -- Rural Development***

***World Wide Web: <http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ca>***

***Bob Anderson, Acting State Director***

**Dec. 7, 2005 Contact: Bob Krauter**

**For Immediate Release Work: (530) 792-5803**

**Release No. 14.05 Cell: (916) 798-9295**

**USDA RURAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AWARDS GRANT TO**

**OPEN DOOR COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS**

*\$205,833 grant will support telemedicine provider on North Coast*

DAVIS, Calif. -- Open Door Community Health Centers (ODCHC) has received
a \$205,833 grant from USDA Rural Development in California to support
telemedicine outreach to several rural areas in Northern California. The
Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant was announced by USDA Rural
Development Acting State Director Bob Anderson. The grant provides
funding for telemedical and distance learning equipment to end-user
sites operated by ODCHC, the United Indian Health Services and Southern
Trinity Health Services.

"In addition to our mission to improve the economic health of rural
communities, grants like this one promote more feasible, cost-effective
health care to rural residents on the North Coast," said Anderson.

The funds will support the Open Door Telehealth and Visiting Specialist
Center operated by ODCHC, which links small, isolated rural health
clinics, which serve more than 35,000 patients annually, to a central
hub in Eureka. The Telehealth and Visiting Specialist Center, which just
began service, has several exam rooms dedicated to telemedicine and a
large conference room suitable for tele-conferencing and distance
learning. The center will have connections to Mad River in Trinity
County; Crescent City and Smith River in Del Norte County; rural areas
of Humboldt County, including Garberville, Willow Creek, Weitchpec and
Klamath; and Mendocino County towns of Round Valley, Fort Bragg, Ukiah
and Sea Ranch.

"It's too expensive to be everywhere, but connectivity is about a
\$25,000 to \$50,000 investment," said ODCHC Executive Director Herrmann
Spetzler. "Within five years, my guess is that this will spread as we
realize that much of health care does not have to be hands-on."

USDA Rural Development's Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program is
designed to enhance educational and health care services in rural
America. This year 227 grant applications were received and 162 were
found to meet program eligibility requirements across the nation,
including the grant to ODCHC.

**-more-**

**Page 2 -- Grant to Open Door Community Health Centers**

"We are gratified that Open Door Community Health Centers was successful
in this grant program. There is a strong need to enhance their outreach
to residents across Northern California," said Anderson. "These are
areas where segments of the population need greater access to quality,
affordable health care, and USDA Rural Development is actively involved
with local health care providers to meet that goal."

USDA Rural Development\'s mission is to deliver programs in a way that
will support increasing economic opportunity and improve the quality of
life of rural residents. As a venture capital entity, Rural Development
has invested over \$63 billion since the beginning of the Bush
Administration to provide equity and technical assistance to finance and
foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical
community and technology infrastructure. As a result, over 1.1 million
jobs have been created or saved through these investments. Further
information on rural programs is available by visiting the USDA Rural
Development California web site at <http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ca>.

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**Committed to the future of rural communities.**

**"USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender."**

**To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W,**

**Whitten Building, 14^th^ and Independence Ave., SW Washington, D.C.
20250-9410**

**or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD).**