FCC Awards Grants to 14 ‘Connected Care’ Pilot Projects

Jan. 18, 2021
Program will make available up to $100 million over a three-year period for pilot projects to provide telehealth and remote monitoring services

The Federal Communications Commission announced an initial set of 14 pilot projects with more than 150 treatment sites in 11 states as part of the Connected Care Pilot Program.  These pilots seek to address a variety of health issues such as high-risk pregnancy, mental health conditions, and opioid dependency.

A total of $26.6 million will be awarded to these applicants for proposed projects to treat nearly half a million patients in both urban and rural parts of the country.  Overall, the pilot program will make available up to $100 million over a three-year period for selected pilot projects for qualifying purchases necessary to provide connected care services, with a particular emphasis on providing connected care services to low-income and veteran patients.  

The pilot program will use Universal Service Fund monies to help defray the costs of connected care services for eligible healthcare providers, providing support for 85 percent of the cost of eligible services and network equipment, which include: (1) patient broadband Internet access services; (2) healthcare provider broadband data connections; (3) other connected care information services; and (4) certain network equipment.

The following is an initial list of providers that were selected to participate in the program:

• Banyan Community Health Center, Inc., Coral Gables, FL.  Banyan Community Health Center’s pilot project seeks $911,833 to provide patient-based Internet-connected remote monitoring, video visits or consults, and other diagnostics and services to low-income and veteran patients who are suffering from chronic/long-term conditions, high-risk pregnancy, infectious disease including COVID-19, mental health conditions, and opioid dependency. 

• Duke University Health System, Durham, NC.  Duke University Health System’s pilot project seeks $1,464,759 to provide remote patient monitoring and video visits or consults to a large number of low-income patients suffering from heart failure, cancer, and infectious diseases. 

• Geisinger, consortium with sites in Lewiston, PA; Danville, PA; Jersey Shore, PA; Bloomsburg, PA; Coal Township, PA; and Wilkes-Barre, PA.  Geisinger’s pilot project seeks $1,739,100 in support to provide connected care services and remote patient monitoring to low-income patients in rural communities in Pennsylvania. 

• Grady Health System, Atlanta, GA.  Grady Health System’s pilot project seeks $635,596 to provide Internet connectivity to an estimated 1,896 primarily low-income and high-risk patients who are unable to utilize video telemedicine services due to lack of a reliable network connection in Atlanta.  The program will focus on using connected care services such as patient remote monitoring and video visits/consults to treat vulnerable patients with conditions such as congestive heart failure, COVID19, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and HIV. 

• Intermountain Centers for Human Development, consortium with sites in Casa Grande, AZ; Nogales, AZ; Coolidge, AZ; and Eloy, AZ.  Intermountain Centers for Human Development’s pilot project seeks $237,150 in support to treat mental health conditions, opioid dependency, and other substance abuse disorders.  The pilot project plans to serve 3,400 patients in Arizona, including rural areas, of which 90% are low-income.

• MA FQHC Telehealth Consortium, consortium with 76 sites in Massachusetts.  MA FQHC Telehealth Consortium’s pilot project seeks $3,121,879 in support to provide mental health and substance abuse disorder treatment through remote patient monitoring, video visits, and other remote treatment to patients in Massachusetts, including significant numbers of veterans and low-income patients.  The pilot project will expand access to these services by leveraging program funding to increase bandwidth at its sites, and to provide patients with mobile hotspots. 

• Mountain Valley Health Center, consortium with 7 sites in Northeastern California.  Mountain Valley Health Center’s pilot project seeks $550,800 in support to provide telehealth capabilities and in-home monitoring of patients with hypertension and diabetes. 

• Neighborhood Healthcare – California.  Neighborhood Healthcare’s pilot project seeks $129,744 to provide patient broadband access to primarily low-income patients suffering from chronic and long-term conditions (e.g., diabetes and high blood pressure). 

• OCHIN Inc., consortium with 15 sites in Ohio, 16 sites in Oregon, and 13 sites in Washington.  OCHIN’s pilot project seeks $5,834,620 in support to lead a consortium of 44 providers in Ohio, Oregon, and Washington, encompassing 8 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) serving rural, urban, and tribal communities.  OCHIN’s pilot project will provide patient broadband Internet access service and wireless connections directly to an estimated 3,450 low-income patients to access connected care services, including video visits, patient-based Internet-connected patient monitoring, and remote treatment and will deliver care to treat high-risk pregnancy, maternal health conditions, mental health conditions, and chronic and long-term conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. 

• The Phoebe Putney Health System projects in Georgia seek $673,200 to provide patient-based Internet-connected remote monitoring, video visits, and remote treatment for low-income patients suffering from chronic conditions or mental health conditions.  These projects plan to serve an estimated 4,007 patients, approximately 1,000 of which will be low-income patients in six sites serving southwest Georgia. 

• Summit Pacific Medical Center, Elma, WA.  Summit Pacific Medical Center’s pilot program seeks $169,977 in support to provide patient-based Internet-connected remote monitoring, other monitoring services, video visits, diagnostic imaging, remote treatment and other services for veterans and low-income patients suffering from chronic conditions, infectious diseases, mental health conditions, and opioid dependency.  Summit Pacific Medical Center’s pilot project would serve an estimated 25 patients in Elma, Washington, 100% of which would be low-income or veteran patients.

• Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA.  Temple University Hospital’s pilot project seeks $4,254,250 to provide patient-based Internet connected remote monitoring and video visits to patients, including low-income patients, suffering from chronic/long-term conditions and mental health conditions.  This pilot project plans to serve an estimated 100,000 patients in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 45% of which are low-income patients. 

• University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS.  The University of Mississippi Medical Center's (UMMC) pilot project seeks $2,377,875 in support to provide broadband Internet access service to patients, enabling remote patient monitoring technologies and ambulatory telehealth visits to low-income patients suffering from chronic conditions or illnesses requiring long-term care.  UMMC's pilot project would impact an estimated 237,120 patients across Mississippi and serve up to 6,000 patients directly.  Of these patients, UMMC estimates that 52% would be low-income.

• University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA.  The University of Virginia (UVA) Health System’s pilot project seeks $4,462,500 in support to expand the deployment of remote patient monitoring and telehealth services to an estimated 17,000 patients across Virginia, nearly 30% of whom will be low-income.  The UVA Health System pilot project will support patient broadband and information services, including systems to capture, transmit, and store patient data to allow remote patient monitoring, two-way video, and patient scheduling. 

The FCC will announce additional project selections at a later date, in addition to providing detailed instructions for all selected applicants to comply with the requirements to procure services, submit funding requests, submit invoices, and consult with the Universal Service Administrative Company.

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