Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Governor Culver Announces New Federal Grant To Connect All Iowa Hospitals
Broadband Infrastructure Grant from FCC Designed to Enhance Rural Healthcare
(Des Moines) Today, Governor Chet Culver joined with the Iowa Hospital Association and Iowa Health System to announce Iowa will receive more than $17 million in grants from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to connect hospitals across the state with high-speed networks for advanced tele-health services.
“I ran for Governor in part to bring people from all across our state together and move Iowa forward. Today, I am proud to announce these new grants which will help make this goal a reality,” said Governor Culver. “By connecting rural hospitals with Iowa’s large urban hospitals and research institutions, all Iowans – from communities large and small -- will now have access to the latest medical research and health services. These steps will ensure all Iowans have access to the health care they not only need, but deserve.”
These pilot projects are part of a national effort to integrate rural healthcare facilities and providers. Today’s grants will ensure every hospital in Iowa will have access to other hospitals, the Internet and educational research networks for voice, video conferencing, and transfer of electronic medical records.
Building upon the current Iowa Communications Network and other private entities, the grant money will be used to build the necessary telecommunications infrastructure for hospitals to enhance patient services. These include more timely diagnosis and treatment or transfer of patients, increasing rapid access to and transmission of medical imagery, extending and improving terrorism response and disaster preparedness, providing for transfer of electronic medical records, and enabling remote care for intensive care patients.
The Iowa Hospital Association and Iowa Health Systems each submitted requests for grants from the program. The Iowa grants were submitted May 2007 in response to the FCC’s request, and will be awarded in equal amounts over a three-year period. Out of the 81 applications, 69 were awarded from a grant fund of over $400 million, including the two from Iowa.
The FCC has identified using advanced telecommunications services as a means to bring the capability of modern urban medical centers to isolated rural communities. In 1997, the FCC established a rural healthcare program funded by money through the universal service fund to ensure rural healthcare providers pay no more than their urban counterparts do for their telecommunications needs in the provision of healthcare services. In September 2006, the FCC requested applications for a two-year pilot program to address the problem of rural healthcare access.