$226K Grant to Help FQHC Telehealth Consortium Improve Digital Equity

The FQHC Telehealth Consortium in Massachusetts has received a $226,660 grant from the Digital Equity Fund of the Essex County Community Foundation to support a Telehealth Navigator Program that aims to increase access to telehealth and improve digital equity in underserved communities.

“Health equity and digital equity are so closely intertwined, especially in a post-pandemic world where virtual care is increasingly becoming the norm,” Stratton Lloyd, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Essex County Community Foundation, stated in the press release.

According to Lloyd, one in five households in Essex County do not own a computer and 59,000 households do not have stable broadband access. Additionally, more than one in eight Massachusetts residents rely on FQHCs to receive healthcare services.

“This lack of technology, combined with language, digital literacy, and other barriers, is disproportionately disrupting healthcare access for a lot of people – particularly for non-English speakers, BIPOC communities, and seniors. We need to work together to change that, and we believe the Telehealth Navigator Program is a huge first step,” Lloyd said.

The program aims to increase telehealth opportunities for residents in Lynn, Salem, Peabody, and Gloucester.

With the help of the funding, the consortium hopes to increase access to the internet, technology, and private spaces where individuals can participate in telehealth visits. Additionally, the grant will go toward supporting the addition of interpreters who can aid in communication during virtual appointments and help patients understand telehealth and improve their digital literacy.

Lynn Community Health Center and North Shore Community Health Center — two federally qualified health centers in Essex County — will participate in the Telehealth Navigator Program. The organizations plan to hire individuals in the community to assume the roles of telehealth navigators and engage in a statewide training program.

The navigators will focus on helping populations who frequently face barriers when it comes to accessing virtual care, including communities of color, individuals who have limited English proficiency, and elderly individuals. The navigators will aim to facilitate telehealth access for these patients by offering digital literacy resources and hands-on assistance in using the technology, according to the press release.

The consortium is the result of a partnership between accountable care organization Community Care Cooperative (C3) and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. The consortium was developed to address health disparities and help residents overcome barriers to accessing telehealth.

In addition, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute will work to expand high-speed internet access to homes, schools, businesses, medical facilities, libraries, government offices, and other public spaces across the state. The institute also manages initiatives that prioritize and promote digital health expansion.

The Massachusetts Broadband Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative partnered with the Essex County Community Foundation to contribute to the grant, which was funded by the Commonwealth’s Partnerships for Recovery initiative.

“We are excited to support and fund the Telehealth Navigator Program, which will help address the technology barriers of patients by teaching them how to effectively use telehealth and remote monitoring devices,” Michael Baldino, director and general counsel of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, said in the press release. “Assessing the program’s impact means that the program will be continuously improved, not only to benefit the people of Essex County, but also to extend those learnings to patients in communities across the Commonwealth.”