This announcement solicits applications for the Regional Telehealth Resource Center Program (RTRC).  RTRCs assist health care organizations, health care networks, and health care providers in the implementation of cost-effective telehealth programs to serve rural and medically underserved areas and

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populations.  This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will support twelve RTRCs that focus on state-wide and regional telehealth activities as shown below.  RTRCs will serve as focal points for advancing the effective use of telehealth technologies in their respective communities and states.  Northeast Region         Southeast Region Upper Midwest Region Northwest Region Connecticut Alabama Illinois Alaska Maine Florida Indiana Idaho Massachusetts Georgia Michigan Montana New Hampshire South Carolina Ohio Oregon New Jersey* Utah* New York South Region North Central Region Washington Rhode Island Arkansas Iowa Wyoming Vermont Mississippi Minnesota Tennessee Nebraska West Region Mid-Atlantic Region North Dakota California Delaware South Central Region South Dakota District of Columbia Kansas  Wisconsin Pacific Region Kentucky Missouri American Samoa Maryland Oklahoma Southwest Region Guam New Jersey* Arizona Hawaii North Carolina West Central Region Colorado Northern Mariana Is.

Pennsylvania Louisiana Nevada Virginia Texas New Mexico West Virginia Utah* * Historically, two regions serve New Jersey and Utah in this program.  Post-award, successful applicants in these regions will be required to provide HRSA with a written plan outlining how New Jersey and Utah will be divided to ensure that services are not duplicated.

The Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) expects all RTRCs to fully collaborate with each other, to share and combine expertise and resources to create a unified telehealth technical assistance capability with effective and efficient educational tools, consulting and support capabilities.  In addition to the RTRCs, HRSA expects to fund two National Telehealth Resource Centers (NTRCs), focused on policy and technology respectively, with which RTRCs will share expertise and resources.  The NTRCs are intended to assist the work of RTRCs in advancing telehealth by providing a collective resource for information on telehealth policy and technology.

RTRC applicants are encouraged to review the NTRC announcement (HRSA-17-108) to understand the distinction between RTRCs and NTRCs.  The technical assistance provided by RTRCs will focus on meeting needs of telehealth networks, practitioners or organizations in their region.  Awards are expected to be used for salaries, equipment, and operating or other expenses related to:
Providing technical assistance, training (including travel expenses) and support for health care providers and entities planning or providing telehealth services; Disseminating information or research findings related to telehealth services; Supporting effective collaboration among telehealth resource centers ; Conducting evaluations to determine the best utilization of telehealth technologies to meet health care needs; Supporting the integration of technologies used in clinical information systems with other telehealth technologies; Fostering the use of telehealth technologies to provide health care information and education for health care providers and consumers in a more effective manner; and Implementing special projects or studies.

Awardees are required to explain the amount of free technical assistance available to anyone contacting a RTRC to provide complete transparency about the intent of services provided through the award.