The FCC Wireline Competition Bureau has approved 43 more applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. The awardees will utilize the $16.87 million in telehealth funding to expand efforts in urban and rural settings.
The program, which was authorized by the CARES Act, so far awarded more than $50 million in funding to 132 health care providers in 33 states and the District of Columbia.
Thirty-two of the 43 successful applications are from states from which there was more than one approval. They were North Carolina (2 approvals), Florida (2), California (2), Louisiana (2), Alabama (3), Connecticut (4), Ohio (4), New Jersey (6) and New York (7).
The most recent FCC COVID-19 Telehealth funding awards were highlighted by three organizations that each garnered $1 million. These organizations are:
- Novant Health Consortium of Winston Salem, NC, will be funded for monitors, cameras, connected devices, phones and other telehealth equipment and software. Novant will deploy to multiple hospital sites for telehealth intensive care units, remote treatment and monitoring of COVID-19 patients in isolation and quarantine, video consultations and other telemedicine applications.
- NYP Brooklyn Methodist Hospital (Brooklyn, New York) will be funded for telemedicine carts, connected devices, and remote monitoring devices to provide video consultations, remote treatment, and other home monitoring capabilities and follow up for patients with COVID-19.
- Yale New Haven Hospital (New Haven, CT) will be funded for telehealth equipment to use with surgical and intensive care visits to minimize exposure to the COVID-19 virus while performing essential medical procedures.
The other side of the coin was the smallest award. Clinica Colorado of Westminster, CO will receive $10,231 for connected devices and network enhancements to provide telehealth via telephone and video conferencing for patients with chronic and acute conditions. Assessments will be made on whether patients should come to a COVID-19 testing facility.
The COVID-19 pandemic is not just leading the government to invest in telehealth. Last week, Frost & Sullivan said that telehealth demand will grow 64.3% this year.
