State to expand telehealth services with $5 million investment

Gov. Tony Evers and representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced a $5 million investment to make telehealth services, including mental and behavioral health services, more accessible by bolstering child psychiatry telehealth services and establishing neighborhood telehealth access points. Funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, DHS will use $2.5 million of the investment to create a new grant program for hospitals and health systems to expand and enhance child psychiatry telehealth services. Up to five one-year grants of approximately $500,000 will be awarded to hospitals and health systems across the state. The remaining $2.5 million in funding will be used for a grant program for providers to partner with community organizations to establish neighborhood telehealth access points at food pantries, homeless shelters, libraries, long-term care facilities, community centers, and schools for people with limited access to technology and reliable internet service. One-year grants of up to $100,000 each will be awarded to between 25 and 50 providers across the state.