The West Virginia Telehealth Alliance is one of 69 programs from across the U.S. that has been selected to participate in the FCC’s Rural Health Care Pilot Program, and, as such, the WVTA will be eligible to use about $9.7 million in federal and state over the next four years. The program is designed to spur the creation of regional or statewide dedicated broadband health care networks.
These funds can be used for three key purposes:
1) reimbursement of the costs associated with the design, engineering and construction of broadband connections to eligible health care facilities and education centers;
2) reimbursement to eligible health care facilities and centers of the costs associated with advanced broadband connection fees; and
3) reimbursement of the costs associated with Internet2 connectivity to eligible centers, including medical teaching facilities.
None of the funds can be used for equipment, software or services (except for network design services and actual construction).
Eligible Health Care Entities:
Primary care centers (including mobile)
Not-for-profit hospitals
Post-secondary educational institutions
offering health care instruction, teaching
hospitals or medical schools
Local health departments
Non-profit psychiatric centers
Free clinics
Non-profit behavorial health centers
Dedicated ERs of rural for-profit hospitals
that participate in Medicare