Mercy uses CARES Act funding to expand telehealth care in Missouri and neighboring states
In March 2020, the CARES Act passed through Congress with near-unanimous consent from lawmakers, before being signed into law by then-President Donald Trump.
The $2.2 trillion package was the third of eight massive federal coronavirus relief laws: Seven of them came during the Trump administration, followed by the American Rescue Plan Act signed off by President Joe Biden in March.
A Friday announcement by Mercy Springfield Communities shows that almost two years after it passed, the CARES Act is still funding some health care efforts in southwest Missouri; specifically, telehealth care, sometimes called "virtual visits."
Mercy said on Friday that since the beginning of the pandemic, the health care system provided more than 800,000 virtual visits to patients. In 2019, Mercy provided just 10,000 of the visits.
With a new $2.2 million grant from the Federal Communications Commission — part of more than $40 million the FCC awarded in Missouri and Oklahoma last fall — Mercy said it will be able to increase virtual visits in Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
The current omicron surge increases demand for such visits, Mercy said.
In a written statement announcing the new grant, David Hinkle with Mercy's Virtual Care Center said the new taxpayer funding will provide more telehealth in Mercy's service footprint, Hinkle said, "especially in our rural facilities.”
Hinkle said that in general, telehealth has helped Mercy reduce bedside coronavirus exposures and "provide invaluable communication between hospitalized COVID patients and their families."
The virtual visits, including Mercy's "COVID Care @ Home" service, allow health care systems to promote social distancing by keeping high-risk populations sheltered at home. It's also easier to conserve supplies of personal protective equipment when some visits are virtual, Mercy said.
COVID Care @ Home has enrolled more than 65,000 patients since the pandemic began affecting Mercy's service footprint. Mercy argues these virtual visits allow better clinical triage for patients: Some 800 were referred to one of the system's emergency departments, while others were referred to outpatient settings or were able to be managed at home.
With Mercy's total grant of $2,217,562, the system said it will be able to buy telemedicine carts and monitors that allow Mercy workers "to contact offsite caregivers via video conferencing and allow for specialized, remote treatment, especially inside Mercy’s COVID and critical care units."
Funds will be earmarked for each system location based on need, Mercy said Friday. Rural facilities, as well as larger Mercy locations, will also benefit from the funding, which will be distributed to Missouri and two nearby states:
$793,788 for Mercy in Missouri
$776,620 for Mercy in Oklahoma
$647,154 for Mercy in Arkansas
"We’re striving to bring our patients the care they need, when and where they need it," said Craig McCoy, president of Mercy Springfield Communities. "Telehealth enables us to do just that. It can be a modern-day house call, or it can bring a specialist virtually to the bedside in our rural hospitals. We’ve seen how it improves our patients’ outcomes, and we can’t wait to expand it further."
Mercy has previously used U.S. Department of Agriculture grants to help bring virtual care to its rural service areas.
Reach News-Leader reporter Gregory Holman by emailing gholman@gannett.com. Please consider subscribing to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Mercy uses CARES Act funding to expand telehealth care in three states
