FCC Hands Out First Covid-19 Telehealth Funds

The FCC said Thursday it has already approved six applications totaling $3.23 million in telehealth funding. 

Related: FCC Opening Telehealth Application Process Monday 

The CARES Act COVID-19 aid package included $200 million for an FCC telehealth program money for healthcare providers. 

The FCC said Thursday (April 16) that the funds would be used in some of the hardest hit areas, including New York, for telehealth services. 

The FCC pointed out that in less than three weeks the commission adopted rules for the program, opened the application window (April 13), and approved the first requests. 

The initial grantees, according to the FCC: 

1. "Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, was awarded $727,747 to implement telehealth video visits, virtual check-ins, remote patient monitoring, and e-visits to patient’s hospital rooms, enabling it to continue to provide high quality patient care, keep patients safe in their homes, and reduce the use of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
2. "Hudson River HealthCare, Inc., in Peekskill, New York, was awarded $753,367 for telehealth services to expand its frontline COVID-19 testing and treatment programs serving a large volume of low-income, uninsured, and/or underinsured patients throughout southeastern New York State, encompassing the Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long Island. 
3. "Mount Sinai Health System, in New York City, New York, was awarded $312,500 to provide telehealth devices and services to geriatric and palliative patients who are at high risk for COVID-19 throughout New York City’s five boroughs. 
4. "Neighborhood Health Care, Inc., in Cleveland, Ohio, was awarded $244,282 to provide telemedicine, connected devices, and remote patient monitoring to patients and families impacted by COVID-19 in the City of Cleveland’s West Side neighborhoods, targeting low-income patients with chronic conditions. 
5. "Ochsner Clinic Foundation, in New Orleans, Louisiana, was awarded $1,000,000 for telehealth services and devices to serve high-risk patients and vulnerable populations in Louisiana and Mississippi, to treat COVID-19 patients, and to slow the spread of the virus to others.  
6. "UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was awarded $192,500 to provide telehealth services to children who have received organ transplants and are thus immune compromised and at high risk for COVID-19."