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Missouri health centers receive $1M from federal government for coronavirus telehealth services

Two Missouri health care facilities are set to receive more than $1 million from the federal government for telehealth services provided during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

Heartland Regional Center in St. Joseph and Jordan Valley Community Health Center in Springfield were included in the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) eighth round of funding announcements Thursday. The two hospitals are the only ones in Missouri to be included in the COVID-19 Telehealth Program so far. 

Heartland Regional Medical Center was rewarded $266,800 to be used with tablets and wireless data plans, the FCC said. The funding will also be used for connected remote monitoring equipment and telehealth software licenses to service high-risk and vulnerable patients, including those who have contracted coronavirus. 

Jordan Valley Community Health Center is to receive $742,780 for a telehealth platform, remote diagnostic and monitoring equipment, and tablets. The FCC said the equipment can be used to provide health services in a patient’s home. 

The FCC is slated to provide $200 million in funding through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help eligible health care providers across the country provide telehealth services to patients at their homes and mobile locations during the pandemic. 

Health care providers must apply to be included in the program. 

Thus far, the FCC has awarded $68.22 million in funding to 185 health care providers in 38 states and Washington, D.C. Prior to Thursday, no Missouri hospitals had been included in the program. 

As of Wednesday, more than 12,400 Missourians have tested positive for COVID-19. About 640 people are hospitalized, and 84 are on ventilators, according to data from the Missouri Hospital Association


EDITOR’S NOTE: For up-to-date information on coronavirus, check with the CDC and DHSS.