Ohio’s Columbia State Community College is taking part in a new effort to help train the 10,000 people needed to help make the national transition to electronic health records by 2014.

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Cincinnati and anther dozen U.S. communities have been chosen for a Health IT pilot program announced by the White House this week. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that Cincinnati-based HealthBridge Inc. will receive $13.8 million in funding to improve health care quality through the use of electronic medical records.

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As broadband stimulus funds continue to make their way to all 50 states, we’ve been bringing you a closer look at some of those public-private partnerships getting underway. Here are some of the most recent broadband expansion projects being announced:

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Last week it was announced that nearly $800 million in new broadband stimulus funding was being deployed across all 50 states as part of the overall effort to expand high-speed Internet access to all American homes and businesses. Here is a look at some of the new projects being announced:

New Jersey: Thomas Edison State College has been awarded a $5.1 million contract to add computer workstations at 125 libraries across the state, as well as providing job search assistance at 365 statewide libraries. Read more here.

Ohio: $30 million has been allocated for a public-private partnership that will expand broadband access across the state. The project will be overseen by the Ohio Middle Mile Consortium, which will deploy 700 miles of fiber lines and create 300 jobs. Read more about the project here.

Pennsylvania: A $6.4 million project will double the amount of public computers available in the state’s library system. 800 new computers will be added, allowing for an additional 14,000 users per week. 25 existing computer centers will be upgraded and an additional 48 centers will be created. Read more about the effort here.

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A new project between the telecommunications industry and the state of Ohio will greatly expand broadband access to parts of the state with little or no current high-speed Internet access.

The Connect Ohio partnership will combine federal broadband stimulus funds with private investment efforts. "Nobody has been bringing high-speed or ultra-high-speed Internet to these areas," said Doug Payauys of Consolidated Rural Electric Co, one of the private partners teaming up with Connect Ohio.

Read more about the project in the Columbus Dispatch, here.

Four more states have launched broadband access projects, deploying thousands of miles of high-speed fiber to rural communities. Here is a look at the new projects being announced:

Massachusetts: The state announces its plans to apply for an additional $45.4 million in broadband stimulus funds to expand high-speed Internet access to Western Massachusetts. If approved, the state plans to provide $26.2 million in matching funds. The project would build 1,330 miles of new fiber lines. “MassBroadband 123 offers an enduring, cost-effective solution to one of our most urgent, long-standing problems and will lay the foundation for sustainable prosperity to a region covering over a third of our state,” Gov. Deval Patrick said in a statement. Read the full story here.

Minnesota: The Commerce Department has awarded the Blandin Foundation a $4.7 million grant to expand broadband access to rural state communities. The Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities coalition will provide $1.3 million in matching funds to the project. Read the full Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal story here.

Ohio: Case Western Reserve University announced plans to launch an “ultra high-speed Internet” experiment in the local community to measure how residents would make use of connections at up 200 times the national average. Read the full Cleveland Plain Dealer story here.

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