Rural Monitor Features CDFI Work in Rural Healthcare
On December 4, the Rural Health Monitor—a publication of the Rural Health Information Hub that focuses on healthcare and population health in rural communities—published an article entitled “CDFIs ‘Make Dreams Come True’ by Creating Opportunity in Rural Spaces.”
The article looks at the impact CDFIs can have on rural health efforts and features insights from CDFI leaders and their partners, including Opportunity Finance Network EVP of Knowledge Sharing Donna Fabiani; Chief Lending Officer of the South Carolina Community Loan Fund James Chatfield; and President/CEO of the Center for Rural Health Development Sharon Lansdale.
In the article, Fabiani shares why CDFIs can be great partners for rural communities, stating, “They know their communities, are committed to offering their expertise, from project conception to financing, and will continue working with the community after making the loan to ensure the project is successful.”
The article also highlights stories where CDFI lending has made an impact in rural communities. One example is the High School for Health Professions located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Serving as a pipeline program to provide early exposure to healthcare professions, the nine-year-old school broke ground last year on a new, state-of-the-art facility made possible in part by the South Carolina Community Loan Fund, which invested nearly 40 percent of a $10 million loan from USDA in the school through the Uplift America program—a public-private-philanthropic partnership coordinated by Opportunity Finance Network (OFN).
Read the article in full.