Telehealth Resource Center Lands $1M Grant

(photo courtesy of the Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center)

Terre Haute-based Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center has been awarded nearly $1 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The funding is part of a major three-year federal grant to expand telehealth services.

“The need for and expansion of telehealth literally exploded during the 2020 lockdown and COVID-19 crisis,” said Cara Veale, chief executive officer of the Indiana Rural Health Association. “The UMTRC has played an important role in helping hospitals, clinics, physicians and medical professionals institute and bring high-impact telehealth operations up to speed.”

The UMTRC is one of 12 Regional and 2 National Telehealth Resource Centers, one for policy and one for technology, that are funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ and HRSA’s Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, which is part of the Office of Rural Health Policy.

HRSA acting Administrator Diana Espinosa said the funding “will help drive the innovation necessary to build clinical networks, educational opportunities, and trusted resources to further advance telehealth.”

According to the organization, the industry is expected to more than triple in size over the next few years to $40 billion in value.