Four more Missouri health care facilities will receive grants under the MoBroadband Now program to upgrade their internet service, including Harrison County Community Hospital in Bethany.

The hospital will provide $7,766 in matching funds.

The grant will enable the facility to upgrade existing broadband speed to serve one critical access hospital and one rural health clinic. High-speed broadband will allow for faster digital image processing, staff efficiency, cost reduction and patient record manage-ment.

Also announced Tuesday were grants to Iron County hospital in Pilot Knob, St Genevieve County Memorial Hospital, and Freeman Neosho Hospital in Neosho. The grants are each worth $25,000.

“One of the very real benefits of improved broadband service in rural Missouri is in telemedicine – connecting Missourians and their physicians with specialists many miles away who can look at high-resolution images and receive other vital information on a real-time basis to help doctors treat those patients,” Gov. Nixon said. “Expanded broadband accessibility between healthcare providers will mean access to quicker and more specialized care that is often life-saving for patients.”

This is Round 2 of the MoBroadbandNow grant awards, bringing the total number of Missouri hospitals receiving grants to 15. The total dollar amount awarded during Rounds 1 and 2 is $362,000. Each hospital receiving a grant in this Round of the awards is a small facility containing 50 patient beds or fewer.