The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved its ninth and tenth sets of COVID-19 telehealth program applications, totaling $16.46 million for 53 providers and $20.18 million for 67 providers, respectively. The FCC is approving applications on a rolling basis until it spends a total of $200 million. Since the first set of awards were announced on April 16, 2020, it has spent $104.98 million to date for 305 providers.
Below are the recent awards for New York organizations.
Betances Health Center in New York, New York, was awarded $122,710 for laptops, tablets, phones, mobile hotspots, videoconferencing software and equipment, and remote monitoring and diagnostic equipment to maintain access for the patient population to primary care and behavioral health services, to keep patients engaged throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, including by using telehealth, to address patient mental health disorders that have been exacerbated by the pandemic, and to free up hospital resources for those with COVID-19.
Callen-Lorde 18th Street Clinic in New York, New York, was awarded $917,255 for mobile hotspots, tablets and laptop computers for providers and patients, telehealth and conferencing equipment, and new software licenses to enable patients and healthcare providers to access the technology and connectivity necessary for remote delivery of primary care, behavioral health and dental care to patients sheltering-in-place as well as patients facing access barriers, including technological barriers.
Catholic Health System of Long Island in Rockville Centre, New York, was awarded $141,397 for telemedicine carts, tablets, video monitors and telehealth platform licenses to implement a tele-intensive care unit for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, conduct video and audio telehealth visits to screen patients, and employ an outpatient COVID-19 post-hospitalization unit, which will function as a virtual extension of the care offered when the patient was hospitalized.
The Family Center in Brooklyn, New York, was awarded $49,855 for desktop computers, network upgrades and software licenses to use telehealth resources to provide behavioral health services to vulnerable families living in some of the most impoverished communities in New York.
The Floating Hospital in Long Island City, New York, was awarded $47,658 for videoconferencing equipment and software, computers, and network equipment to offer remote consultations, treatment and monitoring for patients requiring intensive primary care, many of whom have no access to Medicaid or other insurance, such as low-income families, homeless families and families living in domestic violence safe houses throughout New York City.
Rochester General Hospital in Rochester, New York, was awarded $794,909 for videoconferencing software, remote monitoring equipment, tablets, and network upgrades to increase capacity across the entire health system for remote monitoring of patients, including patients who are isolating at home, and to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by transitioning its nonclinical workforce to remote settings.
Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York, was awarded $593,957 for telemedicine carts, telehealth-enabled intensive care equipment, mobile audiovisual setups with tablets, and videoconferencing software to support existing ICU capacities now converted to the care of COVID-19 patients, to expand the tele-ICU support services to new locations with strained resources, and to utilize funding to coordinate care across the hospital network to effectively manage bed capacity and patient distribution.
Children’s Aid, in Bronx New York, was awarded $73,848 for desktop and laptop computers, tablets, software upgrades, and video equipment to allow clinicians to provide video and telephone consultations and remote behavioral health treatment to children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic who have serious risk factors and who are without access to regular medical care.
Community Healthcare Network in New York, New York, was awarded $180,734 for laptop computers and network upgrades to expand and improve the delivery of telehealth services to its patient population by using telehealth for all nonurgent visits, increasing video consults as appropriate, and providing treatment and monitoring for chronic conditions, including diabetes, asthma, mental health, psychiatry and medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.
Finger Lakes Migrant Health Care Project in Penn Yan, New York, was awarded $582,491 for laptop computers, tablets, telehealth video equipment, remote monitoring equipment and network upgrades to assist in screening, testing and treatment for COVID-19 patients in eight counties, as well as to provide ongoing critical services to patients throughout the pandemic by greatly increasing the amount of services provided through remote telehealth capabilities.
NYC Health + Hospitals in New York, New York, was awarded $1 million for a telehealth platform, smartphones, remote monitoring platform subscription and remote monitoring equipment to offer virtual urgent care for patients with COVID-19 and an at-home monitoring program for patients with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 to monitor patient symptoms.
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, was awarded $600,456 for network upgrades and security equipment, as well as teleconferencing software licenses, to provide virtual patient visits to continue comprehensive cancer care, including surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, imaging diagnostics and regular checkups, while reducing the exposure of an at-risk patient population and clinical staff.
St. Lawrence Health System in Potsdam, New York, was awarded $615,545 for laptop computers, a telehealth platform and a remote patient monitoring platform to offer real-time video and audio consultations for patients distanced during the COVID-19 crisis and to expand remote patient monitoring infrastructures in rooms of hospitalized patients.
If you have any questions or would like assistance with preparing applications, please reach out to Meghan McNamara at mmcnamara@manatt.com or 518.431.6702 and/or Danielle Sokolov at dsokolov@manatt.com or 518.431.6712.