FCC Approves Eighth Set of COVID-19 Telehealth Program Applications

The Federal Communications Commission approved an additional 53 funding applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. Health care providers in both urban and rural areas of the country will use this $18.22 million in funding to provide telehealth services during the coronavirus pandemic. To date, the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which was authorized by the CARES Act, has approved funding for 185 health care providers in 38 states plus Washington, DC for a total of $68.22 million in funding. Below is a list of health care providers that were approved for funding:

• AccessHealth, in Richmond, Texas, was awarded $439,286 for telehealth carts and network upgrades to increase clinical capacity and prevent further community spread of COVID-19 by treating primary care patients remotely for COVID-19, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and other diseases and illnesses.
• The Arc Madison Cortland, in Oneida, New York, was awarded $49,455 for laptop computers and headsets to provide remote consultations and treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic for psychological services, counseling, and occupational and physical therapy for people with developmental and other disabilities.
• Bridge Counseling Associates, in Las Vegas, Nevada, was awarded $91,460 for laptops, cameras, telehealth equipment, internet service, and software licenses to significantly expand telehealth capabilities during the COVID-19 emergency and continue to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment, psychiatric care, and medical wellness services, including for persons who currently have, or are recovering from, COVID-19.
• Central Kansas Mental Health Center, in Salina, Kansas, was awarded $113,768 for laptop computers, monitors, tablets, mobile hotspots, and other telehealth equipment to increase telehealth offerings for mental health services provided in patient homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus.
• Central Maine Medical Center, in Lewiston, Maine, was awarded $270,172 for computers, tablets, network upgrades, and a telehealth platform to design, implement,and support an integrated telemedicine application across three sites for use of video  telehealth, including specialty consultations between a provider in a distant facility and a patient, typically in a rural community, in a different facility.
• Central New York Services, in Syracuse, New York, was awarded $546,009 for laptops, desktop monitors, tablets, and other telehealth equipment to conduct video consultations and remote monitoring and treatment to maintain the existing patient level of care while adhering to COVID-19 mitigation guidelines.
• The Chautauqua Center Medical Center, in Jamestown, New York, was awarded $164,634 for servers, tablets, desktop and laptop computers, and diagnostic equipment to provide remote diagnostic services and remote treatment for COVID-19 patients and other patients in need of care.
• Children’s Charter, in Waltham, Massachusetts, was awarded $20,069 for laptop computers to help provide specialized trauma services using telehealth, including evaluations and treatment for women and children who have witnessed traumatic violence in their homes and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Clark County Rehabilitation and Living Center, in Owen, Wisconsin, was awarded $201,863 for tablets and video telehealth equipment to perform remote diagnosis and treatment for psychiatric services and to expand primary care telehealth services to reduce patient travel in rural areas during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Conway Hospital, in Conway, South Carolina, was awarded $536,359 for telemedicine carts and a telehealth platform to assist with telehealth solutions in almost every department of the hospital, including primary care, neurology, pediatrics, and family medicine, to provide necessary patient care to mitigate the impact and spread of COVID-19.
• Ellis Hospital, in Schenectady, New York, was awarded $131,261 for a telehealth platform, laptops, and telehealth equipment to provide COVID-19 symptom monitoring and testing referrals, to treat and monitor COVID-19 patients with a remote care treatment plan, and to treat other at-risk patients with chronic conditions.
• Elmwood Health Center, in Buffalo, New York, was awarded $128,789 for a remote patient monitoring platform, remote diagnostic and monitoring equipment, and tablets to provide telehealth video consultations and remote diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Family Counseling Center, in Gloversville, New York, was awarded $43,667 for laptops and related equipment so mental health professionals can provide telehealth services, such as psychiatric evaluations, medication management and therapy services, through a remote platform during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Franciscan Health Indianapolis, in Indianapolis, Indiana, was awarded $929,834 for laptops, tablets, remote monitoring devices, and a remote monitoring platform, as well as other telehealth equipment, to treat patients with COVID-19 symptoms or confirmed cases and, by using telehealth and virtual care technology. to assess patients who are symptomatic or believe they may have been exposed to COVID-19 without requiring the patient to leave his or her home.
• Harbor, in Toledo, Ohio, was awarded $328,126 for laptop computers, tablets, a patient wellness application license, mobile data plans, video telehealth licenses, and  other telehealth equipment to continue treatments during the COVID-19 crisis by using telehealth to perform comprehensive mental health and substance use assessment and treatment for all patients, including psychiatric evaluations and pharmacological management, psychological testing and evaluations, and primary care services.
• Heartland Regional Medical Center, in Saint Joseph, Missouri, was awarded $266,800 for tablets and wireless data plans as well as connected remote monitoring equipment and telehealth software licenses to provide remote monitoring to both COVID-19 patients and other high-risk and vulnerable patients, video conferencing , virtual visits, and patient-provider messaging.
• Housing Works Health Services, in Brooklyn, New York, was awarded $857,750 for a telehealth platform, phones, tablets, laptop computers, and internet service to provide remote telehealth services to COVID-19 patients and to meet the needs of clients without COVID-19 but who need treatment for chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and HIV/AIDS.
• Insight House Chemical Dependency Services, in Utica, New York, was awarded $78,528 for laptops, connected devices, and other telehealth equipment for telehealth services to ensure continued patient care for substance use and behavioral health treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic and to adhere to safety precautions for patients and the healthcare workforce.
• InterCommunity Hartford, in Hartford, Connecticut, was awarded $100,083 for laptops, telehealth, and remote monitoring equipment, wireless data services, and software licenses to boost access to primary care and behavioral health services using telehealth for high-risk and other patients vulnerable to COVID-19, most of whom are suffering from mental health problems, substance use disorders, or chronic disease comorbidities.
• Isaiah’s Place, in Troy, Ohio, was awarded $30,494 for touchscreen connected devices and internet access to help staff maintain communication with foster children while they are restricted from physically meeting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• JBS Mental Health Authority, in Birmingham, Alabama, was awarded $120,035 for tablets and wireless data services to extend psychiatric services and treatment to a high-risk patient population during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Johns Hopkins Health Systems, in Baltimore, Maryland, was awarded $1,000,000 for a remote intensive care unit, a medical kiosk, tablets and other connected devices, cameras and other telehealth equipment, and patient monitoring equipment to provide routine and complex care for patients with COVID-19, including a COVID-19 Ambulatory Response Team and a regional public-private partnership to serve patients in the surrounding community, all utilizing telehealth.
• Jordan Valley Community Health Center, in Springfield, Missouri, was awarded $742,780 for a telehealth platform, remote diagnostic and monitoring equipment, and tablets to provide diagnostic services and treatment for COVID-19 patients at the patient’s home and, by using multiple telehealth solutions, provide access to health care for all other patients and expand clinical applications of the telehealth technology.
• Key Program, Inc. in Springfield, Massachusetts, was awarded $6,423 for laptop computers to offer telehealth mental health services, therapy, and consultation sessions  with patients throughout western Massachusetts during the COVID-19 stay-in-place restrictions.
• Lafayette Foundation Clinic, in Lafayette, Louisiana, was awarded $21,075 for computers and connected devices to use telehealth to treat rural patients for COVID-19 as well as other acute illnesses, and chronic and infectious diseases.
• Legacy Community Health Services, in Houston, Texas, was awarded $571,045 for laptops, network upgrades, and video-conferencing licenses to provide voice and video consultations and remote treatment for primary medical, pediatric, family medicine, obstetrics, and behavioral health conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Leland Medical Center, in Leland, Mississippi, was awarded $448,442 for telemedicine desktop computers, laptop computers, mobile hotspots, and network upgrades for the treatment and monitoring of COVID-19 patients and for the treatment of mental health, substance abuse, opioid dependency, and chronic disease management (such as, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer) using telehealth.
• Long Island Select Healthcare, in Central Islip, New York, was awarded $480,854 for laptop computers, tablets, remote monitoring equipment, and mobile hotspots to maintain continuity of care for high-risk patients by instituting a virtual care platform with COVID-19 specific functions, such as Bluetooth stethoscopes and thermometers, and wearable pulse oximeters that track patient oxygen levels in the home.
• Maple Knoll Communities, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded $98,984 for a telehealth platform, remote diagnostic equipment, and other professional medical services to provide remote diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring, voice and video consultations, and pharmaceutical services for vulnerable older adults from their own homes, while also increasing efficiency and expanding the number of patient visits during the COVID-19 crisis.
• Native American Community Clinic, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was awarded $21,533 for laptops, tablets, video services and equipment, and network upgrades to provide remote monitoring and treatment, as well as telehealth consultations, and to increase the accessibility of safe medical care for its patient population.
• New York-Presbyterian Hospital, in New York, New York, was awarded $1,000,000 for telemedicine carts, tablets, a virtual triage platform, and remote monitoring equipment to provide an electronic ICU program to better support patients in intensive care by allowing clinicians to access real-time patient data for multiple patients at the same time and to allow physicians to prioritize care for patients at high risk for the COVID-19 disease.
• Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, in Niagara Falls, New York, was awarded $35,640 for laptop computers to use telehealth systems to provide a wide range of services in the areas of primary care, obstetrics and gynecology, and mental health, and to permit providers to communicate with patients in real time on symptoms, mental health issues and other medical conditions, while practicing social distancing and slowing the spread of the COVID-19 disease.
• Northlakes Community Clinic, in Iron River, Wisconsin was awarded $286,046 for a telehealth kiosk and connected devices to provide virtual primary care services to  rural residents throughout a 20,000 square mile service area in northern Wisconsin during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Novant Health Consortium, in Winston Salem, North Carolina, was awarded $536,485 for tablets, laptops, touch screen monitors, cameras, and other telehealth equipment to employ a tele-ICU for both COVID-19 and non-COVID patients and to offer ways to engage patients through use of digital technology, both within and beyond the Novant facilities in Salisbury and Bolivia, North Carolina.
• Ocean Health Initiatives, in Lakewood, New Jersey, was awarded $782,629 for monitors, laptops, and diagnostic equipment, along with hardware and software upgrades, to offer remote monitoring and video consultations for patients at seven sites throughout the Jersey Shore area as it screens for COVID-19 and provides primary, pediatric and other medical care.
• Outside In Clinic, in Portland, Oregon, was awarded $291,235 for laptops, tablets, mobile hot spots, a telemedicine platform, video monitors, and remote monitoring equipment to increase telehealth capabilities so patients without COVID-19 can access services remotely while the clinic can remain open and available for patients who need to be evaluated in person for COVID-19.
• Portland Community Health Center, in Portland, Maine, was awarded $245,988 for a telehealth platform, computers, tablets, diagnostic equipment, mobile hotspots, and other telehealth equipment to monitor and provide care for patients in isolation who have tested positive for COVID-19, to set up dedicated telehealth rooms for all patients without the ability to participate in a remote telehealth visit, and to deploy a portable teleclinic system to monitor the vitals of patients without physically being in the same room.
• Project Health, in Sumterville, Florida, was awarded $437,114 for telehealth carts, laptop and desktop computers, tablets, remote monitoring equipment, and telehealth equipment to screen for COVID-19 and increase capacity for telehealth visits for primary care services for those with chronic health conditions.
• Public Health Management Corporation, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was awarded $202,065 for laptop computers, tablets, phones, a VPN, and network upgrades to leverage telehealth and provide an outlet for underinsured individuals to avoid emergency departments for healthcare needs and reduce the need for patients with COVID-19 to access hospital services wherever possible.
• Purdue University Fort Wayne Community Counseling Center, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was awarded $34,982 for connected devices, mobile hotspots, and other telehealth equipment to provide mental health counseling to community adults, adolescents, children and families with mental health disorders and conditions using telehealth.
• Region 8 Mental Health Services, in Brandon, Mississippi, was awarded $32,349 for laptops, mobile hotspots, a telehealth platform, and other telehealth equipment to continue to offer remote diagnosis, family and individual therapy, psychiatric evaluations, and other medical services to rural areas of Mississippi during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Resource Center for the Chemically Dependent, in Denville, New Jersey, was awarded $19,750 for laptops, telehealth software, and network upgrades to provide remote monitoring and continuity of patient counseling sessions and medical appointments during the COVID-19 crisis.
• St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, in Cleveland, Ohio, was awarded $183,195 for laptop computers, connected devices, network upgrades, telehealth equipment, a telehealth platform, and internet access to give high-risk, low-income populations access to behavioral and integrated care during the COVID-19 pandemic with an emphasis on opioid addiction, substance use disorders and associated comorbidities and chronic diseases.
• Shasta Community Health Center, in Redding, California, was awarded $44,263 for a telehealth platform and internet service for voice and video patient consultations as well as remote diagnosis and treatment to allow for comprehensive care of a multitude of conditions in an area that has been hard hit not only by the COVID-19 pandemic but also was a FEMA-declared disaster area from wildfires in 2018.
• SUNY Upstate Cancer Center at Seneca Hill, in Syracuse, New York, was awarded $373,731 for a telehealth platform subscription and tablets to deploy for COVID-19 patients and suspected COVID-19 patients to allow for virtual visits by nurses and physicians and to perform group consultations with specialists and family members (since visitors are not allowed in the hospital).
• Temple University Hospital, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was awarded $902,290 for a remote monitoring platform, symptom diagnosis software, tablets, phones, and other telecommunications equipment to diagnose and treat patients who are COVID-19 suspected and/or confirmed, as well as to conduct telemedicine interventions for other patients who require consultation for specialty services or outpatient appointments.
• Trihealth, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded $537,471 for tablets, video monitors, and telehealth equipment and software to conduct remote monitoring and treatment for primary, specialty, and urgent care and COVID-19 response, as well as virtual evaluations of hospitalized patients to reduce exposure for providers and patients.
• United Methodist Communities at the Shores, in Ocean City, New Jersey, was awarded $909,560 for a remote patient monitoring platform and telehealth software licenses to be used in a skilled nursing setting to help prevent falls and other dangerous conditions without requiring excessive in-person monitoring and to allow for remote consultations in settings where either provider shortages or COVID-19 impacts would delay or prevent access to specialty or nursing care.
• Universal Community Health Center, in Los Angeles, California, was awarded $170,479 for phones, laptops, mobile hotspots, network upgrades, remote monitoring equipment, and a telehealth platform to help the clinic transition to virtual care in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with a goal of conducting 80% of all visits using telehealth.
• University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, in Cleveland, Ohio, was awarded $821,882 for telemedicine carts, tablets, and home monitoring devices to treat COVID19 patients in various clinical settings serving 1.3 million unique patients over an 18 county area of Northeastern Ohio, including populations diverse in demographic, socio-economic and home settings (urban, suburban and rural) and to prioritize  COVID-19 avoidance by remotely serving patients with other clinical conditions, such as congestive heart failure, diabetes, and asthma.
• University of Mississippi Medical Center/UMMC Consortium, in Jackson, Mississippi, was awarded $1,000,000 for connected devices, laptops, network equipment and upgrades, software licenses, and other telehealth equipment to help develop a telemedicine COVID-19 Triage Solution consisting of skilled medical, technical, and support staff using new technological capabilities to perform screenings and medical assessments, schedule testing appointments, and conduct outreach regarding COVID-19 testing results, as well as immediate expansion of non-COVID19 telehealth services to meet both urgent and routine health needs.
• Upper Great Lakes Family Health Center, in Gwinn, Michigan, was awarded $213,997 for telemedicine carts, computers, monitors, and diagnostic equipment to be used for community-wide triage for COVID-19 screening and testing, as well as routine medical management of nursing home and congregate living patients to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 high-risk patient populations.
• View Point Health, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, was awarded $315,672 for laptop and desktop computers, along with telehealth and conferencing software licenses and equipment, to provide crisis and traditional outpatient mental health services to individuals with COVID-19 symptoms as well as those without COVID-19 symptoms