This funding has helped healthcare institutions across 25 states improve internet connectivity, improve patient care, and reduce operational costs.
BANGOR – HealthConnect Networks has achieved a major milestone, securing more than $125 million in subsidies from the federal Healthcare Connect Fund program. This funding has allowed more than 2,500 healthcare sites in 25 states to develop vital broadband and telehealth infrastructure.
“This money has helped so many healthcare providers develop the state-of-the-art IT infrastructure they need to deliver high-quality healthcare for people living in rural areas.” said Jim Rogers, president of HealthConnect Networks. “We’re so proud of reaching this milestone because we know that equipping healthcare facilities with efficient and cost-effective network solutions ultimately enhances patient care, improves operations, and has made it possible for them to deliver life-saving care to millions of people across the country.”
The Healthcare Connect Fund was designed to help healthcare providers in rural, medically underserved areas access broadband services. The Fund provides a 65 percent discount on eligible broadband expenses, helping providers subsidize services and equipment, and in some cases construct their own broadband infrastructure.
HealthConnect Networks, which was founded in 2013, partners with healthcare providers to determine their eligibility for funding and help them manage the application process. Leveraging decades of industry experience and technical expertise, the team at HealthConnect Networks streamlines the process, ensuring providers get the support they need to enhance connectivity, improve patient care, and reduce operational costs.
Subsidies from the Healthcare Connect Fund have helped providers across the country develop the IT infrastructure they need to provide telehealth services and create more reliable and secure data networks for rural hospitals and clinics. It has also allowed providers in rural areas to access specialists in large institutions and share high-res images such as MRI scans. What’s more, it has reduced costs for the rural healthcare providers that would otherwise have had to build networks at their own, often prohibitive, expense.
Reliable and high-quality IT infrastructure has become essential in rural areas that are considered healthcare deserts, where there are a limited number of hospitals, emergency services, primary, dental, and mental healthcare providers to meet residents’ needs.
Currently 80 percent of counties across the U.S. are considered healthcare deserts, according to Good Rx Research, In these areas, residents tend to delay or avoid routine medical care, which can increase the risks associated with treatable, preventable chronic conditions, and increase mortality rates in emergencies. Patient mortality increases by 1 percent for every 10 kilometers a patient is from the nearest hospital, according to a study in Emergency Medicine Journal.