Addressing the doc shortage. Southwest Virginia has a chronic shortage of doctors, nurses and other health care providers. The United Company Foundation in Bristol is issuing a $1 million challenge grant to the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg to lower medical school debt for doctors who agree to practice in Southwest Virginia, reports the Roanoke Times. Two $40,000 scholarships will be awarded this spring to third-year medical students. After they complete their residencies, they will be required to work for three years in the region.
To plug the broadband gaps, first you have to find the broadband gaps.
The General Assembly has coughed up $19 million to help bring broadband to rural Virginia next year. But Virginia’s broadband guru, Evan Feinman, has identified a surprising obstacle: Private companies like Verizon and Comcast won’t tell the state where the service gaps are, reports Radio IQ. “If you call them and say, “I live at this address can I get connected? They can tell you yes or no. They will not share that information nationally,” Feinman says. Rather than creating maps that make proprietary information available to the public, the state now is encouraging incumbent Internet Service Providers to share the information with companies interested in filling the gaps without insisting that the state get involved.