Commission Continues Approving Telehealth Funding During Coronavirus Pandemic
June 17, 2020 – The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau today approved an additional 62 funding applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. Health care providers in both urban and rural areas of the country will use this $23.25 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 367 funding applications in 45 states plus Washington, D.C. for a total of $128.23 million in funding.
Below is a list of health care providers that were approved for funding in Florida:
•Baptist Hospital of Miami, in Miami, Florida, was awarded $1,000,000 for telemedicine carts, videoconferencing equipment and software licenses, and tablets to address the COVID-19 crisis by expanding telehealth intensive care units and by deploying video conferencing for patient consults to reduce in-person care and prevent the spread of the virus.
•Citrus Health Network, in Hialeah, Florida, was awarded $453,601 for videoconferencing software, computers, laptops, tablets, and network upgrades to institute remote patient treatment to reduce in-person screening for COVID-19 symptoms and provide a virtual workspace so staff working from home can still provide services to patients in need.
•Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, in Gainesville, Florida, was awarded $63,700 for mobile hotspots, tablets, videoconferencing software and network upgrades to enable remote consultations and treatment for patient behavioral health problems throughout 11 counties in North Central Florida.
•Project Access Foundation at Biscayne Medical Center, in Miami, Florida, was awarded $55,260 for laptop computers, mobile hotspots, smartphones, and videoconferencing equipment to provide immediate screening and primary care services to those exhibiting or self-reporting COVID-19 symptoms and use telehealth services to care for COVID-19 and chronic care patients by monitoring treatment and medication and preventing unnecessary hospitalizations.
To learn more about the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program and view a complete list of funding recipients to date, visit https://www.fcc.gov/covid19telehealth. To learn more about the FCC’s Keep Americans Connected Initiative, visit https://www.fcc.gov/keepamericansconnected
