Rural Health Care Pilot Program Applicants
Further details and contact information for applicants available at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/rural/rhcp.html. A list of applicants sorted by state or region follows.
- Adirondack-Champlain Telemedicine Information Network (New York) — A new fiber optic telemedicine network, connected to Internet2, will connect approximately eight health care facilities in northeastern NY. The new network will enable real-time consultations, sharing of medical image files, and distance education. Maximum support: $7,648,304.
- Alabama Pediatric Health Access Network — A new network, connected to Internet2 at speeds ranging from 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps, will connect a specialized pediatric emergency department to emergency departments at rural hospitals, as an initial step toward linking all emergency departments statewide. Four facilities connected initially. Maximum support: $420,316.
- Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium — Comprised primarily of rural health care practitioners, the consortium will unify and increase the capacity of disparate healthcare networks throughout Alaska in order to connect with urban health centers and access services in the lower 48 states. Approximately 270 facilities will be connected. Maximum support: $10,425,250.
- Albemarle Network Telemedicine Initiative (North Carolina) — A new network will provide secured information exchange across approximately 65 facilities, enabling computerized physician orders for medical procedures, discharges, transfers, and referrals. Maximum support: $1,583,076.
- Arizona Rural Community Health Information Exchange — New OC-3 fiber connections to an existing network and Internet2 connection will link approximately 15 healthcare facilities to an existing centralized hub. The network will provide multidisciplinary telemedicine, distance learning, and technology assessment services. Maximum support: $4,237,718.
- Arkansas Telehealth Network — Four existing networks will be consolidated and expanded using T1-grade connections to encompass approximately 245 non-profit sites, enabling better patient care, including electronic records management, and coordinating responses to major public health incidents. Maximum support: $4,217,688.
- As One-Together for Health (Mississippi) — A new statewide non-dedicated telehealth network will connect approximately 260 facilities through web-based conferencing tools running on commodity Internet and Internet2 connections. This will improve patient care, and enable effective responses to disasters and other major incidents. Maximum support: $1,912,964.
- Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts (Washington) — Six existing telehealth networks will be connected and enhanced to reach approximately 120 facilities, using videoconferencing and web portals to offer distance education, improve clinical practice, facilitate collaborative research, and improve disaster response in underserved rural areas. Maximum support: $712,086.
- Bacon County Health Services, Inc. (Georgia) — A new 1 Gbps network will connect approximately 25 public and non-profit health care facilities in rural and urban locations in Georgia to an existing network, enabling telemedicine services, distance education, research, and effective disaster response. Maximum support: $2,239,580.
- Big Bend Regional Healthcare Information Organization (Florida) — A new 1 Gbps fiber optic network will link approximately 9 rural hospitals in 8 counties to the existing Florida LambdaRail backbone, and will extend to community health centers and clinics through broadband wireless, improving patient care through disease monitoring and access to specialists, and enabling access to distance education and other existing networks. Maximum support: $9,623,019.
- California Telehealth Network — A new network will facilitate mental illness counseling and improve patient-physician interaction for rural Californians, who suffer disproportionately from depression, hypertension, asthma and cardiovascular disease. The network will link approximately 300 facilities. Maximum support: $22,100,000.
- Colorado Health Care Connections — The network will connect around 75 Colorado public and non-profit hospitals and clinics via Ethernet to Internet2 or National LambdaRail within two years, at speeds ranging from 40-100 Mbps. Maximum support: $4,621,554.
- Communicare (Kentucky) — A T1-based network connecting approximately 20 facilities specializing in mental health services will enable video consultation and other videoconferencing applications. Maximum support: $387,175.
- DCH Regional Health System (Alabama) — The network will connect a regional medical center to two rural hospitals, using video conferencing and remote diagnostics over leased fiber optic networks, to improve patient care. Maximum support: $194,225.
- Erlanger Health System Rural Health Care Fiber Network (Tennessee, Georgia) — Chattanooga-based non-profit will extend an existing fiber network to deliver patient care, video consultations, data exchange, and a virtual nursery to approximately 11 health care facilities serving residents in sparsely populated regions of southeast Tennessee and smaller areas of northern Georgia, western North Carolina, and northeast Alabama. Maximum support: $2,198,610.
- Frontier Access to Rural Healthcare in Montana — A state-wide network, using T1 connections to a high speed backbone, will connect approximately 140 health care facilities to provide high definition videoconferencing, maintain electronic health records, and provide other services. Maximum support: $1,957,652.
- Geisinger Health System (Pennsylvania) — Existing network structures covering approximately 15 facilities will be enhanced and connected using high bandwidth connections to transfer radiographs, improve electronic record systems, and enable other telemedicine services. Maximum support: $901,551.
- Greater Minnesota Telehealth Broadband Initiative — To enable video conferencing, existing networks covering approximately 140 facilities will be upgraded to at least T1 connections and connected to a new statewide fiber network. Maximum support: $5,396,992.
- Health Care Research & Education Network (North Dakota) — The network will connect five facilities, linking campuses of the University of North Dakota School of Medicine to rural healthcare facilities to provide telemedicine services. The existing state fiber network will be used in part. Maximum support: $286,144.
- Health Information Exchange of Montana — In an area with no connections to Internet2 or National Lambda Rail, a new fiber network will connect approximately nine facilities to enable distance consultation, electronic record keeping and exchange, disaster readiness, clinical research, and distance education services. The new network will also serve as a natural connection point to Internet2 or National Lambda Rail. Maximum support: $13,600,000.
- Heartland Unified Broadband Network (South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wyoming) — Existing networks will interconnect to a fiber-optic DS3 44.7 Mbps-capacity line forming an expanded network of about 180 facilities with connections to Internet2. The expanded and enhanced network will address health problems of the area's aging population, increase the use and quality of teleradiology, and increase distance education activities. Maximum support: $4,781,931.
- Holzer Consolidated Health Systems (Ohio) — Located in the Appalachian region of southeastern Ohio, this consortium of eight healthcare facilities will upgrade its existing network to a broadband fiber-optic network. The enhanced network will facilitate better information-sharing, enable remote data storage (thereby providing for disaster recovery and business continuity), and provide a local information backbone for connection into the regional electronic data interchange. Maximum support: $1,836,000.
- Illinois Rural HealthNet Consortium — This statewide network will serve approximately 87 health care facilities and connect to Internet2. More than 95% of the connected locations will have connectivity at speeds ranging from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps. Maximum support: $21,063,528.
- Indiana Health Network — The network will connect approximately 100 health care facilities throughout Indiana, providing speeds of up to 1 Gbps at participating rural hospitals. The hospitals will serve as capacity hubs connecting to smaller health facilities. Maximum support: $16,138,270.
- Iowa Health System — The new network connections will link approximately 78 health care facilities, including 52 rural facilities, to an existing statewide, dedicated, broadband healthcare network and National LambdaRail. Maximum support: $7,802,732.
- Iowa Rural Health Telecommunications Program — To solve the problems of isolation, travel and limited resources that constrain health care delivery in rural Iowa and its surrounding regions, a new statewide broadband network will link approximately 100 facilities in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota to Internet2 at speeds of 1 Gbps. Maximum support: $9,948,961.
- Juniata Valley Network (Pennsylvania) — Covering a rugged, rural region of the Appalachian Mountains, this network will connect approximately 79 health care facilities to a network that will facilitate telemedicine, enable school wellness programs, and connect to Internet2 at speeds ranging from 7 to 100 Mbps. Maximum support: $3,310,048.
- Kansas University Medical Center — The proposed statewide, broadband, private network linking approximately 44 health care facilities will connect to Internet2 and facilitate telemedicine, health information exchange, and health information technology services. Maximum support: $3,798,300.
- Kentucky Behavioral Telehealth Network — The network will connect community mental health facilities in Appalachian southeastern Kentucky to major urban hospitals to improve patient access to a full range of medical professionals. Approximately 27 facilities will be connected. Maximum support: $2,856,101.
- Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals — The Department will connect approximately 100 facilities, about 47 of which are rural, to a broadband network that will link facilities to government research institutions, enable patient access to medical specialists, and provide rapid and coordinated crises responses. Maximum support: $15,925,270.
- Michigan Public Health Institute — New network infrastructure will connect existing state health networks to each other and Internet2 at speeds ranging from 1.5 Mbps to 100 Mbps. The network will link approximately 390 facilities, primarily rural, in underserved areas of the state. Maximum support: $20,910,000.
- Missouri Telehealth Network — The network will create a 2 Gbps statewide dedicated telehealth backbone, enabling new telemedicine services including those requiring high-definition video streaming. The network will also add about 32 facilities to an existing network of approximately 127 facilities and connect to Internet2. Maximum support: $2,374,605.
- Mountain States Health Alliance (Tennessee and Virginia) — The network will connect two rural Virginia hospitals using 100 Mbps Ethernet to an existing network of 11 Tennessee hospitals. The expanded network will facilitate high-speed transfer of clinical, financial, and image data among the included facilities. Maximum support: $93,240.
- New England Telehealth Consortium -- A multi-state telehealth network will deliver remote trauma consultation and expansive telemedicine by linking approximately 500 primarily rural health care facilities — including hospitals, behavioral health sites, correctional facility clinics, and community health care centers — in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to urban hospitals and universities throughout New England. Maximum support: $24,689,016.
- North Carolina Telehealth Network -- Regional network will connect approximately 16 health care facilities in 11 counties with patients in their homes, at work, and on the move to provide home monitoring, personal health records, personalized health messaging and prescription drug use compliance. Maximum support: $6,023,985.
- North Country Telemedicine Project (New York) — Approximately 30 new health care facilities in a poor, sparsely populated region of northern New York will be connected to an existing regional fiber ring and Internet2 at speeds ranging from 10 to 100 Mbps. Services will include telecardiology, teleradiology, and psychiatry through video conferencing, research and education. Network will also serve Fort Drum, which lacks a healthcare facility. Maximum support: $1,984,998.
- Northeast HealthNet (Pennsylvania, New York) — Network will facilitate real-time information sharing between approximately 38 mostly rural healthcare facilities and specialists to provide remote diagnosis, treatment and education of patients, and wellness initiatives. Maximum support: $1,700,340.
- Northeast Ohio Regional Health Information Organization — Will expand an existing network to connect approximately 19 medical facilities in 22 counties at speeds ranging from 100 Mbps for sites connected via wireless and 1 Gbps for sites connected with fiber. Connects with both Internet2 and National LambdaRail. Maximum support: $11,286,200.
- Northwest Alabama Mental Health Center — A 1 Gbps network will link about six clinics in five rural counties. Maximum support: $381,648
- Northwestern Pennsylvania Telemedicine Initiative — Network will improve access to a broad range of specialty medical services at five facilities, two of which are prisons. Goals include using telemedicine to encourage medical professionals to establish services and remain in rural communities. Maximum support: $352,169.
- Oregon Health Network — Network will interconnect with existing health networks in Oregon, Internet2 and National LambdaRail to link over 300 facilities, both urban and rural. Maximum support: $20,182,625.
- Pacific Broadband Telehealth Demonstration Project (Hawaii) — Project will link approximately 96 health care facilities throughout Hawaii and the Pacific Island region to serve a population that spans 11 islands. The network will enable rural facilities to communicate with health care specialists, who are concentrated in urban areas, at speeds of up to 10 Gbps. Maximum support: $4,867,963.
- Palmetto State Providers Network (South Carolina) — Connects four rural and underserved regions to a fiber optic backbone being developed in the state and Internet2. Network will connect approximately 58 facilities at speeds ranging from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps. Maximum support: $7,944,950.
- Pathways Community Behavioral Healthcare, Inc. (Missouri) — Not-for-profit community mental health center will connect approximately 15 outlying offices to its headquarters. The dedicated T1 network will extend outreach to the current population served, and reduce the costs of recruiting physicians to relocate in rural areas. Maximum support: $459,000.
- Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (Pennsylvania) — Network will link four rural hospitals at speeds of up to 100 Mbps to facilitate continuing medical education, enable the rapid exchange of clinical information between academic medical center-based physicians and community-based facilities, and allow remote monitoring of patients in rural communities. Maximum support: $894,482.
- Pennsylvania Mountains Healthcare Alliance — New broadband network proposed by a consortium of approximately 12 hospitals in rural western Pennsylvania will provide a variety of telehealth services, specialty care, and tele-pharmacy in 18 counties. Network will provide a minimum of 10 Mbps service and connect with Internet2. Maximum support: $1,180,004.
- Puerto Rico Health Department — Network will facilitate the exchange of medical records, radiology images and other health services between approximately 46 health care facilities across Puerto Rico, using T-1 circuits. Maximum support: $7,374,018.
- Rocky Mountain HealthNet (Colorado) — Network allow the consortium's approximately 180-member health care facilities to connect quickly to information and image management services, and Internet2, using leased T-1 facilities. Over half of the health care facilities are rural. Maximum support: $5,064,300.
- Rural Healthcare Consortium of Alabama — Network will serve four rural critical access hospitals with two bonded T-1 lines capable of providing 3 Mbps upstream and downstream. Network will be used for teleradiology, lab information systems, video conferencing, and secure networking with large academic medical centers and universities. Maximum support: $232,756.
- Rural Nebraska Healthcare Network — Consortium of nine rural hospitals and related clinics will upgrade a patchwork of T-1 lines with an advanced fiber network connecting with National LambdaRail. Network will provide speeds of up to 1 Gbps for a variety of telehealth and telemedicine services in an underserved rural area. Maximum support: $19,256,942.
- Rural Western and Central Maine Broadband Initiative -- New, high-speed fiber optic cable network will serve approximately 80 health care facilities. Maximum support: $3,601,326.
- Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative — Project will augment an existing shared electronic health records project by providing redundant connectivity and data centers, as well as higher speeds that will range from 10 to 100 Mbps. Network will connect with Internet2 and serve approximately 17 facilities. Maximum support: $1,593,355
- Sanford Health Collaboration and Communication Channel (South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota) — Project will connect seven existing networks at speeds of up to 100 Mbps to access administrative services and connect with educational institutions. Facilities served include the Aberdeen, S.D. area Indian Health Services. Maximum support: $812,152.
- Southern Ohio Healthcare Network — Project will provide approximately 60 facilities with next-generation telemedicine, education, and interconnection with statewide emergency networks and Internet2 by building or purchasing fiber optic rings covering 315 miles. Will also provide connectivity to facilities outside the reach of the fiber optic rings. Maximum support: $13,929,417.
- Southwest Alabama Mental Health — Network will connect with Internet2 and provide voice, video and data transmission capabilities to approximately 31 mental health facilities serving 16 counties. Connection speeds range from 3 to 100 Mbps. Maximum support: $2,511,789.
- Southwest Telehealth Access Grid (New Mexico, Texas, Colorado) — Network will distribute telemedicine clinical services, educational and training programs to approximately 60 facilities within the states and the Southwest Indian Services consortium. Speeds will range between 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps, with connections to Internet2 and National LambdaRail. Maximum support: $15,561,181.
- St. Joseph's Hospital (Wisconsin)—Project will link two existing fiber systems in the city of Chippewa Falls to the hospital, two other facilities and Internet2 in order to expand telemedicine offerings. Maximum support: $655,200.
- Tennessee Telehealth Network (Tennessee, Kentucky) — Will build on and expand the existing Tennessee Information Infrastructure to serve approximately 450 facilities. Connects to Internet 2; will support diabetes research involving three state research centers. Maximum support: $7,998,111.
- Texas Health Information Network Collaboration — Network will support physician-patient consultations, distance education, medical data management, medical records exchanges, connections to Internet2, and other services at speeds of up to 1 Gbps at approximately 180 facilities. Maximum support: $11,042,096.
- Texas Healthcare Network — Will expand and improve an existing network serving approximately 40 primarily rural health care facilities at speeds of at least 45 Mbps. Maximum support: $4,889,200.
- Tohono O'odham Nation Broadband Network (Arizona) — Located on the border of Mexico in an area that is as large as the state of Connecticut, the Nation plans to connect approximately 18 health care facilities to Arizona's traditional health care facilities, Internet2, and National LambdaRail, at 155 Mbps. Maximum support: $426,275.
- University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina — Network will add approximately 16 mostly rural healthcare facilities in 12 counties to an existing fiber ring to serve a very rural population suffering from a significantly higher incidence of chronic disease than the state and national averages. Provides connection with Internet2. Maximum support: $960,939
- University of Mississippi Medical Center — Project will upgrade an existing network and extend coverage to approximately 90 mostly rural facilities to provide telehealth, web-based patient education and links to the University's knowledge base. Maximum support: $3,918,319.
- Utah Telehealth Network — Will upgrade an existing network serving approximately 133 rural hospitals, community health centers on the Navajo reservation in Southeast Utah and other facilities. Operating at speeds of up to 1 Gbps, network will expand telemedicine and telehealth services, foster collaboration to improve patient care, and improve training and education for health care professionals. Will connect to both Internet2 and National LambdaRail. Maximum support: $9,045,959
- Virginia Acute Stroke Telehealth Project — Network will connect approximately 48 facilities in order to improve stroke care statewide via live video consultation, tele-radiology, monitoring and education of personnel. The majority of the participating hospitals are in medically underserved areas or in areas where there is a shortage of health care professionals. Maximum support: $2,701,276.
- Western Carolina University -- In collaboration with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the university will build a broadband network that will ultimately connect the university's health care facilities to community health care facilities serving residence on the reservation and in outlying areas. Approximately 224 facilities will be served at speeds ranging from 10 Mbps Ethernet connections to 100 Mbps shared Internet2 service. Maximum support: $3,596,290
- West Virginia Telehealth Alliance — Statewide network will connect approximately 450 facilities to improve connectivity for rural health centers. Project is focused on regions of the state with historically high concentrations of poor and elderly individuals suffering from chronic medical conditions. Will connect to Internet2; speeds range from T1 lines at 1.5 Mbps to 1 Gbps fiber. Maximum support: $8,396,130
- Western New York Rural Area Health Education Center — Network will connect about 40 facilities at speeds of at least 100 Mbps in order to provide access to experienced specialty physicians and critical life-saving treatments. Connections to Internet2 at 1 Gbps and backbone at 2 Gbps. Maximum support: $5,981,450.
- Wyoming Telehealth Network -- Will help alleviate Wyoming's severe shortage of health care providers and reduce the need for the state's significant rural population to drive long distances for health care by connecting approximately 74 hospitals, community mental health centers and substance abuse centers. Connects with Internet2. Maximum support: $778,765.
Recipients by State and Region
Alabama
Alabama Pediatric Health Access Network
DCH Regional Health System
Northwest Alabama Mental Health Center
Rural Healthcare Consortium of Alabama
Southwest Alabama Mental Health
Alaska
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
Arizona
Arizona Rural Community Health Information Exchange
Tohono O'odham Nation Broadband Network
Arkansas
Arkansas Telehealth Network
California
California Telehealth Network
Colorado
Colorado Health Care Connections
Rocky Mountain HealthNet
Florida
Big Bend Regional Healthcare Information Organization
Georgia
Bacon County Health Services, Inc.
Illinois
Illinois Rural HealthNet Consortium
Indiana
Indiana Health Network
Kansas
Kansas University Medical Center
Kentucky
Communicare
Kentucky Behavioral Telehealth Network
Louisiana
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals
Maine
Rural Western and Central Maine Broadband Initiative
Michigan
Michigan Public Health Institute
Minnesota
Greater Minnesota Telehealth Broadband Initiative
Mississippi
As One- Together for Health
University of Mississippi Medical Center
Missouri
Missouri Telehealth Network
Pathways Community Behavioral Healthcare, Inc.
Montana
Frontier Access to Rural Healthcare in Montana (FAhRM)
Health Information Exchange of Montana
Nebraska
Rural Nebraska Healthcare Network
New York
Adirondack-Champlain Telemedicine Information Network
North Country Telemedicine Project
Western New York Rural Area Health Education Center
North Carolina
Albemarle Network Telemedicine Initiative
North Carolina Telehealth Network
University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina
West Carolina University
North Dakota
Health Care Research & Education Network
Ohio
Holzer Consolidated Health Systems
Northeast Ohio Regional Health Information Organization
Southern Ohio Healthcare Network
Oregon
Oregon Health Network
Pennsylvania
Geisinger Health System
Juniata Valley Network
Northwestern Pennsylvania Telemedicine Initiative
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Pennsylvania Mountains Healthcare Alliance
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico Health Department
South Carolina
Palmetto State Providers Network
Texas
Texas Health Information Network Collaboration
Texas Healthcare Network
Utah
Utah Telehealth Network
Virginia
Virginia Acute Stroke Telehealth Project
Washington
Association of Washington Public Hospital District
Wisconsin
Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative
St. Joseph's Hospital
Wyoming
Wyoming Telehealth Network
Multi-state Projects
Appalachia
Erlanger Health System Rural Health Care Fiber Network (TN, GA)
Mountain States Health Alliance (TN, VA)
Tennessee Telehealth Network (TN, KY)
West Virginia Telehealth Alliance (WV, VA, OH)
Midwest/Great Plains
Heartland Unified Broadband Network (SD, ND, IA, MN, NE, WY)
Sanford Health Collaboration and Communication Channel (SD, IA, MN)
Iowa Health System (IA, IL)
Iowa Rural Health Telecommunications Program (IA, NE, SD)
New England
New England Telehealth Consortium (ME, VT, NH)
Northeast
Northeast HealthNet (PA, NY)
Pacific
Pacific Broadband Telehealth Demonstration Project (HI, AS, GU)
Southwest
Southwest Telehealth Access Grid (NM, TX, CO)