{"id":4880,"date":"2021-04-12T10:00:35","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T17:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/?p=4880"},"modified":"2021-04-12T10:00:35","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T17:00:35","slug":"american-rescue-plan-provides-funding-to-expand-telehealth-and-distance-learning-capacity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/american-rescue-plan-provides-funding-to-expand-telehealth-and-distance-learning-capacity\/","title":{"rendered":"American Rescue Plan Provides Funding to Expand Telehealth and Distance Learning Capacity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: Cheryl Henshaw, National Director of Poly\u2019s Grants Assistance Program\u00a0co-authored this post.<\/em><\/p>\n

The recently approved American Rescue Plan (ARP) provides an unprecedented amount of funding for healthcare with a primary focus on COVID response and recovery. The plan puts a strong emphasis on increasing healthcare capacity \u2013 including health professional and paraprofessional workforce development, graduate medical education, mental health and substance abuse treatment and prevention. Investment in collaboration technologies that enable telehealth and remote learning is encouraged in the various component programs under the ARP umbrella, serving as a critical element of providing equitable access to these educational and clinical services<\/p>\n

Today, we will highlight one component healthcare program of the ARP \u2013 The Health Services and Resource Administration\u2019s (HRSA) $6.1 Billion H8F funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).<\/p>\n

FQHCs play a significant healthcare delivery role for medically underserved and vulnerable populations. FQHCs serve as the medical home for tens of millions of Americans, providing primary medical and dental care, mental\/behavioral health and substance abuse services, care coordination, disease management, maternal health, and early child development services. Many FQHCs provide health services in public schools, including school-based telehealth. These valuable, but traditionally underfunded health centers will soon have the opportunity to enhance their operations through the HRSA H8F funding program. The use of funds allows for everything from investments in collaboration infrastructure and technologies to upgrading facilities and deploying mobile units that allow for the continuity of operations and greater access to healthcare services.<\/p>\n

The program\u2019s initial focus is on COVID response and recovery-related activities such as testing, contact tracing, treatment, training health professionals, vaccine scheduling and administration, medical oversight post-vaccination, and follow-up. Collaboration technologies \u2013 including voice and video platforms \u2013 have a significant role to play here for contact tracing; COVID testing and vaccine administration coordination, training and oversight; and delivery of essential clinical services by telehealth. As a critical mass of citizens gets vaccinated, the focus will shift to capacity building, and the H8F funding will allow FQHCs to expand clinical service offerings and access to care using telehealth technologies.<\/p>\n

HOW CAN HRSA H8F FUNDS BE UTILIZED<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Some examples of use cases where collaboration technologies can build FQHCs\u2019 healthcare capacity are listed on the program\u2019s website<\/a><\/span>, and have been summarized below:<\/p>\n