PORTLAND, Maine (AP)   The federal government is giving a Maine health organization more than $270,000 to improve access to telehealth in rural parts of the state.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving the money to MaineHealth, which includes Maine Medical Center, the largest hospital in the state. A spokeswoman for MaineHealth says the money will help improve communications between emergency departments and emergency medical services in rural areas.

The spokeswoman says the grant will also help with post-discharge care and nursery care support.

MaineHealth plans to establish telehealth hubs at six hospital emergency departments. The group says improvement of telehealth tools in emergency care situations will enable time-sensitive information about patient status to be shared on the way to the hospital.