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NC Receives Federal Grant To Grow Telehealth WIC Services

The USDA/Tufts Telehealth Intervention Strategies for WIC (THIS-WIC) recently announced that seven WIC State Agencies will receive awards up to $1 million each, including North Carolina. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

North Carolina is getting a federal grant to help address food insecurity in rural communities.

The $1 million grant will use telehealth solutions to provide nutrition education and breastfeeding support to WIC participants. WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services administers the program. Agency officials say the grant will help decrease barriers to these services and improve access, especially in rural counties.

The money will be used to upgrade software in the state system. This will allow for making online appointments, and it will streamline services making the certification process easier for participants.

North Carolina is one of seven state agencies across the country to receive the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Tufts Telehealth Intervention Strategies for WIC grant.

North Carolina's WIC program provides services to more than 250,000 participants each month.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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