DeSoto County Awarded $842,710 in Rural Health Transformation Grants
HERNANDO — DeSoto County is set to receive $842,710 through Governor Tate Reeves’ Mississippi Rural Health Transformation Program, with three awards announced Monday aimed at modernizing local healthcare technology.
Positive Pathways LLC received the largest of the three awards at $378,750, which will go toward purchasing new workstations, tablets, wireless networking, telehealth tools and self-service kiosks.
Sidhu Pediatrics, LLC was awarded $375,000 to implement modern pediatric electronic health records with AI-enabled clinical documentation, patient engagement tools and population health capabilities.
The Endocrine Diabetes & Thyroid Center PLLC received $88,960.38 to enhance access to specialized endocrinology services for rural patients.
The awards were part of 167 grants totaling $104,115,146 announced Monday by Reeves in Jackson. The grants come from Mississippi’s $205.9 million first-year implementation budget for the program, part of a five-year effort to transform rural healthcare across the state.
“When we began this work, we set out to do more than simply invest in the healthcare system we already have,” Reeves said. “We set out to transform how rural Mississippians access care — bringing more services closer to home, strengthening the providers and facilities that rural communities depend on, and using technology and innovation to better connect patients to care across our state. Today, we are beginning to see that vision become reality.”
The announced awards represent the first three grant opportunities in Year One of the program. Applications for workforce and psychiatric emergency services initiatives are currently being reviewed, with announcements expected in the next 30 to 45 days. Additional opportunities focused on closing gaps in rural care and helping rural providers modernize electronic health record systems will launch in October.
