The Virginia Rural Health Association is currently accepting new sites into the Virginia Rural Health Telecommunications Consortium (VRHTC), which is open to select healthcare facilities in Virginia and surrounding Appalachian states.
The VRHTC fosters the development and growth of broadband healthcare networks through a streamlined application process to the federal Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF), which reduces prices and offers better connectivity for bandwidth used by rural healthcare providers. Eligible facilities receive up to a 65% rebate on the cost of internet services and broadband upgrades, and include:
-Community Service Boards
-Federally Qualified Health Centers
-Hospitals
-Inpatient treatment programs
-Nursing Schools
-Skilled Nursing Facilities
-Rural Health Clinics
Consortia benefit from access to funds not available to individual participants in the HCF, including upfront payments for equipment and healthcare provider constructed facilities, and funds for equipment necessary to manage a dedicated healthcare broadband network. Additionally, filing as a consortium encourages competitive bidding by telecommunications providers across the state, resulting in lower fees for the participating consortium members.
To be eligible for participation, sites must be:
-A rural healthcare provider AND
-A public or nonprofit entity*
*Some for-profit sites may also be eligible if they receive certain contracted services, such as telehealth, from a public site or 501c3
If you are interested in participating, please visit http://www.vrha.org/vrhtc.html and click “Take the SURVEY!”
Questions?
Contact Beth O’Connor (540-231-7923)
Watch the video! We recently gave a presentation regarding VRHTC. It’s a good starting point for more information.
Southwest Virginia Graduate Medical Education Consortium 