The awards are funded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law March 27. The grants will be used to train students, physicians, nurses, physician assistants and other professionals in telehealth, increasing the use of virtual care for COVID-19 referrals for screening and testing, case management and outpatient care during the pandemic.
The Health Resources and Services Administration oversees the five workforce programs that received the awards. The five programs that received funding are: geriatrics workforce enhancement program; area health education centers program; centers of excellence program; nurse education, practice, quality and retention for veteran nurses in primary care training program; and nurse education, practice, quality and retention for registered nurses in primary care training program.
“Telehealth is a vital tool for our providers in delivering critical treatment to populations most seriously impacted by this pandemic,” HRSA Administrator Tom Engels said in the news release. “As we look to build and prepare the future workforce, telehealth has opened up new possibilities to educate and clinically train health providers to connect with patients, when and where they need services.”
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