Durbin, Duckworth Announce $1.5 Million In Telehealth Funding For Illinois Health Care Providers
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that four Illinois health care providers have been awarded more than $1.5 million in federal funding to improve and expand telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants are part of Round 2 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which was established as part of the CARES Act and continued under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The following Illinois organizations were awarded funding: Heartland Health Centers in Chicago, Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago, Covenant Living Communities and Services in Skokie, and OSF Healthcare System in Peoria.
“This federal funding will help Illinois providers strengthen telehealth services, which have become invaluable resources during the pandemic, allowing more people to access care no matter their location,” Durbin said. “Senator Duckworth and I are proud to announce this funding and will continue working to improve access to health care services throughout Illinois.”
“Expanding the reach of Illinois’s healthcare network is critical to extending reliable care to more Illinoisans as we continue to respond to the COVID-19 public health crisis,” Duckworth said. “I’m proud to join Senator Durbin in announcing these federal telehealth funds to help our state’s health providers safely and accessibly serve their communities.”
Heartland Health Centers in Chicago was awarded $460,635 for telehealth devices that will allow call center tele-triage, patient outreach and education, remote insurance enrollment, delivery of telehealth visits by phone and video, and remote monitoring of patients with chronic conditions and illnesses.
Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago was awarded $44,107 to purchase devices, including iPads, tablets, cameras, a computer, and a smart television, used by clinicians and health care workers to communicate virtually and provide care for patients and those in treatment.
Covenant Living Communities and Services, a nationwide non-profit senior care organization, headquartered in Skokie was awarded $95,113 to purchase video and audio equipment, including electrocardiograms, digital stethoscopes, and cameras, to allow the providers to better triage patients and provide more targeted patient care to free up resources within the health care organization and over-crowded emergency rooms.
OSF Healthcare System in Peoria was awarded $943,644 for telehealth devices that provide video and telephonic connections between patients and providers, with a particular focus on the low-income and hardest-hit areas in the community it serves.
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