FCC Casts a Wide Net for COVID-19 Telehealth Program Awards

The Federal Communications Commission is branching out with its new list of  recipients for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, selecting a wide range of care providers who are using mHealth and telehealth programs to address ongoing pandemic.

The 13 providers selected cover a wide range of locations, including pediatric hospitals, federally qualified health centers, skilled nursing facilities, community health centers and telemental health services. They demonstrate the lengths to which the healthcare industry is going to embrace new telehealth opportunities.

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The fourth batch of recipients, announced on April 29, brings the total to 30 hospital and health systems in 16 states sharing some $13.7 million in funding. The program, created out of the CARES Act, has set aside $200 million for programs that aim to treat infected patients, secure the safety of doctors and nurses and improve care management and coordination for high-risk populations and others who need non-Coronavirus care.

The COVID-19 Telehealth Program is not a grant program. To receive disbursements, healthcare providers will be required to submit an invoicing form and supporting documentation to receive reimbursement for eligible expenses and services.

The latest round of recipients is as follows:

• The Mayo Clinic, based in Rochester, MN, is getting $1 million to expand its video-based telehealth and remote patient monitoring platforms to more than 50 communities in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin;
• Children’s Hospital of Colorado, based in Aurora, CO, has been awarded $807,090 to expand the telehealth footprint at its 14 sites to improve care management for children, adolescents and young adults with complex care needs;
• The Institute for Family Health in New Paltz, NY, is getting $729,118 to expand telehealth services in all 16 locations of its federally qualified health center (FQHC) network, which includes group homes for the developmentally disabled. The sites are located in underserved neighborhoods in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan;
• McLaren Health Care, based in Grand Blanc, MI, has been awarded $626,328 to enhance telemedicine connectivity at its 12 sites and to use telehealth to improve care management for high-risk and vulnerable patients at the Karmanos Cancer Center;
• Country Doctor Community Health Centers in Seattle has been awarded $392,770 to expand telehealth services to triage COVID-19 patients and improve care management for others with chronic care needs;
• The New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center in Jamaica, NY, has been awarded $126,799 to develop telehealth programs at its two locations in the Bronx and Brooklyn to treat low-income and at-risk patients with mental health issues and to improve mobile integrated health services that reduce 911 calls and ED visits and expedite post-discharge services, helping to free up hospital space;
• Augusta University Medical Center in Augusta, GA, is getting $113,744 to expand its mHealth platform to use ultrasound to screen COVID-19 patients and separate them from others needing respiratory care services prior to hospital admittance;
• The Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation in New York City is getting $97,965 to develop telehealth and remote patient monitoring services for elderly and chronic care patients at its 527-bed skilled nursing facility and rehabilitation center;
• Loudoun Community Health Center, part of the HealthWorks for Northern Virginia program in Leesburg, VA, has been awarded $93,380 to expand its video-based telehealth platform to identify and treat COVID-19 patients in their homes;
• Lancaster Health Center in Lancaster, PA, is getting $75,710 to expand telehealth services to screen and treat COVID-19 patients and manage care for high-risk patients, including migrants, low-income and older patients and those with pre-existing conditions;
• Greene County General Hospital in Linton, IN, is getting $60,480 to expand its telehealth platforms to treat patients, including seniors, who have been displaced by emergency COVID-19 cases inside the hospital campus;
• Valley-Wide Health Systems in Alamosa, CO, has been awarded $46,437 to expand its virtual care platform to screen and treat vulnerable and low-income patients; and
• The Service Program for Older People, based in New York City, is getting $26,180 to develop a telemental health platform for seniors at high risk of COVID-19 who would otherwise be treated in a hospital ER.