A community garden, park improvements and new bike trails are among 53 Tennessee initiatives that received federal funding to make health caremore accessible to rural communities, according to Department of Health data released Sept. 3.
The project money is part of more than $206 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, which pledged a $50 billion nationwide investment in rural America through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program. The federal funds will support expanding safe and accessible health infrastructure in 44 counties, including Williamson, Cheatham, Maury, Wilson, Coffee, Sevier, Dyer, Weakley, Obion, Hawkins, Blount, Roane and White.
Sumner County residents also are expected to benefit through
Special Olympics of Tennessee, which received a federal grant and provides year-round sports training and athletic competition to children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
Another project includes expanding walking and bicycle paths in Putnam County that are part of the Tennessee Central Heritage Rail Trail, which currently spans more than four miles along an active rail line. It offers a "scenic and safe" nine-foot-wide paved path for pedestrians and cyclists, according to an Instagram post by trail supporters.
Tennessee's plan proposed investments to reverse rural hospital decline, extend care access, modernize technology, strengthen local economies and improve outcomes for mothers, children and older adults. The state dubbed these the Healthy Active Rural Tennessee (HART) projects and they include improving nutrition, physical fitness and community social support and programs.
Among the counties benefiting are some identified as "economically distressed," including Scott, Cocke, Clay, Hancock and Lauderdale, according to the Sept. 3 announcement. The $206 million grants for Tennessee must be spent by the end of September 2027. CMS will offer more rural health care grants next year, but states must submit new proposals and aren't guaranteed the same allotment.
Other rural health initiatives will expand wheelchair accessibility on public buses in Murfreesboro, improve a wildlife viewing area at Mossy Creek in Jefferson County and create safe routes to Hermitage Springs Park in Clay County.
"These first grant awards demonstrate how this historic investment is empowering rural communities to strengthen their health systems, put patients first, and bring better care closer to home," CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a statement.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Bike trails, community gardens among Tennessee projects funded for rural health
