Cantwell Announces Nearly $1.7 Million in Grants to Expand Telehealth Services in Yakima and Kennewick

Press Release

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today announced that a total of $1,679,202 in grants have been awarded to Triumph Treatment in Yakima and Kadlec Medical in Kennewick to expand access to telehealth services to help better serve low income patients and lower the risks associated with COVID by allowing patients to be monitored from home.

Yakima Valley Council on Alcoholism Triumph Treatment Services:
Triumph Treatement was awarded $916,782 to purchase smartphones, tablets, laptops, and online remote patient monitoring and treatment platforms which will enable those economically disadvantaged or severely financially impacted by COVID-19 to have phone and internet-enabled devices, thereby facilitating their participation in virtual outpatient services.

Kadlec Medical (Kennewick):
Kadlec Medical was awarded $762,420 to purchase patient monitoring kits that contain tablets, software, and accessories to monitor high-risk patients' vital signs at home to avoid unnecessary COVID-19 exposures.

The grants were awarded through the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) COVID-19 Telehealth Program. The program was first established in the 2020 CARES Act. Additional funds were appropriated by Congress as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

Senator Cantwell is a strong proponent of telehealth and has long stressed the need for comprehensive broadband infrastructure to support telehealth services. In August 2020, Cantwell joined her Senate colleagues in a letter to the FCC urging them to increase funding for the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program, which supports access to telehealth services in hard-to-reach and economically depressed communities. At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in May 2020 on the state of broadband infrastructure in America, Senator Cantwell emphasized the importance of telehealth healthcare services throughout the COVID-19 crisis. In 2019, Cantwell held a roundtable with telehealth officials and FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle to advocate for expanding access to telehealth services.

Source