Eldercare and senior living operators are among the latest beneficiaries in a federal program to support connected care services during the coronavirus pandemic. One operator calls its grant a “game changer.”
In late March, the Federal Communications Commission approved $200 million in congressional funds to help healthcare providers to offer remote care options such as telehealth during the emergency period. The latest in its series of rolling awards were announced Thursday. One awardee, New Jersey-based United Methodist Communities, plans to use its nearly $910,000 grant to fund a remote patient monitoring platform and telehealth software licenses.
The technology will enable skilled nursing facility staff to prevent falls and other dangerous conditions “without requiring excessive in-person monitoring,” reported Larry Carlson, president and CEO, in a Friday Linkedin post. Carlson also expects the new technology to allow remote consultations during staff shortages or when COVID-19 related issues delay access to specialty care.
“This funding may very well be a game changer not only for UMC, but for the senior living industry,” he wrote.
Among other industry grant recipients announced Thursday, Maple Knoll Communities in Cincinnati was awarded about $99,000. The operator will direct funds toward licenses for a telehealth platform and remote diagnostic equipment so that it can expand the number of patient visits for “vulnerable older adults from their own homes,” the agency reported.
The funds were appropriated by Congress as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Eligible healthcare providers can submit applications for funding to the FCC. Grants are awarded on a rolling basis “until the funds are exhausted or until the current pandemic has ended,” the FCC states.
