Chattanooga Invests in 1,000 Telehealth Accounts for Low-Income Residents, Social Determinants of Health

Too often policymakers, political leaders, contractors, and consultants want to tell communities just how broadband should work for their unserved and underserved. But there should be a Prime Directive, borrowing from Star Trek, that every application presented to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) and Digital Equity Act (DEA) grant programs should bear evidence of an aggressive, community-level needs analysis conducted in all eight “covered populations” identified in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. “We are not telling folks, we're asking them… ‘These resources - how can we be of assistance to you?’” said Deb Socia, President and CEO of The Enterprise Center, a Chattanooga nonprofit that works at the intersection of technology and inequality. “With this [telehealth] project, there’ll be a large community conversation where people tell us they need from us. Too often I’ve watched people go into a neighborhood and try to make change. But change has to come from the people who live there.”