The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin funded 16 grants, totaling around $1 million, that aim to help grow telemedicine services in Wisconsin.
As new life was breathed into distance health care since the onset of COVID-19, the state saw an area of opportunity to grow accessible health care for Wisconsinites via telemedicine. Funding from the grants will be utilized to purchase medical telecommunications equipment that enhances access to medical care in rural or underserved areas, for people with disabilities or promoting technologically-advanced medical services.
Each over $100,000, the three largest grants went to ThedaCare, Children’s Hospital and Health System, and Hospital Sisters Health System Wisconsin. Among the items that will be paid for by the funding will be telemedicine carts, iPads, webcams, as well as equipment capable of transmitting x-ray images to radiologists off-site to ease accessibility for patients in Edgerton.
This round of grants was funded by the Universal Service Fund, which provides up to $500,000 per fiscal year for grants. During the last grant round in 2020, the state PSC received 19 applications requesting more than $1.2 million in funding. As a result, the Commission awarded $1 million, which funded 16 grants.
The only organizations that were eligible for funding were public health agencies or nonprofit medical clinics or hospitals governed by a board of directors that serve federally-designated health professional areas, medically underserved areas and medically underserved populations.