Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) Grant

OAT Grant

In 2006, the Kansas University Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth (KUCTT) received its third, three-year federal grant award from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT), a division of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The grant of $750,000, awarded in the amount of $250,000 per year, is supporting and expanding Telemedicine and Telehealth's existing network.

The first OAT grant, awarded in 1999, provided for the delivery of specialty services via telemedicine to nine rural communities throughout the state. The original project, known as Telehealth for Kansans, brought a host of specialties to rural Kansas communities, including dermatology, dietetics and nutrition, oncology and hematology, neurology, rheumatology, pediatric cardiology, psychiatry and psychology, and speech pathology.

In 2003 KUCTT received its second OAT grant award titled "Sustainability and Cost Benefit Evaluation of the Kansas Telehealth Network," which continued advancing the telemedicine in Kansas. In addition to increasing specialties available to rural Kansans, the project worked on expanding telemedicine to new communities, completing a cost-benefit analysis, and facilitating long-term suitability planning at each telemedicine site.

The current OAT grant, Telehealth Access and Cost Benefit in Kansas, will provide funding for additional equipment and staff at new and already established sites. The project will continue to add specialties, specifically pediatric specialties, to the services available and will work to expand to additional communities. The project will also continue to support continuing education and community education events through video conferencing technology.