Saint Joseph Berea Foundation Receives More Than $223,000 for “Telehealth Solutions for Rural Kentucky”

BEREA, Ky. (Jan. 20, 2022) – The Saint Joseph Berea Foundation has received $223,879.09 from the American Rescue Plan SHIP (Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program) COVID-19 Testing and Mitigation Program. These funds will go toward scaling “Telehealth Solutions for Rural Kentucky” to 13 counties across the state and offering home health services to 614 patients in these counties. This project will improve access to higher levels of care and follow-up care for patients with COVID-19 or acute and chronic conditions in infectious disease, cardiology, pulmonology, and neurology through the use of advanced technology. 

With this additional funding, the project will now reach community members in Madison, Jackson, Rockcastle, Garrard, Lincoln, Estill, Laurel, Pulaski, Clay, Jessamine, Whitley, Lee and Harlan counties.

“We are thankful to receive these funds and continue our outreach of telemedicine and home health to communities across our region,” said Leslie Smart, CFRE, president, Saint Joseph Berea Foundation. “Expanding ‘Telehealth Solutions for Rural Kentucky’ will provide more patients with the high level of care they deserve, and we look forward to seeing all who will benefit from this initiative.”

CHI Saint Joseph Health’s “Telehealth Solutions for Rural Kentucky” was initiated by a $1,022,334 USDA grant received in early 2021. To continue and expand this project, CHI Saint Joseph Health Foundations, in partnership with CHI Saint Joseph Health Medical Group and CommonSpirit Health at Home, received four grants totaling $1,074,828 from the USDA to 100% fully scale the project. 

The remaining grant funds were awarded to Saint Joseph Mount Sterling Foundation, Flaget Memorial Hospital Foundation and CHI Saint Joseph Health. In total, CHI Saint Joseph Health’s “Telehealth Solutions for Rural Kentucky” will offer telehealth services to residents in 50 Kentucky counties and offer home health services to 3,090 patients in those counties.

About CHI Saint Joseph Health

CHI Saint Joseph Health, part of CommonSpirit Health, is one of the largest and most comprehensive health systems in the Commonwealth of Kentucky with 100 locations in 20 counties, including hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes, home health agencies and an ambulatory Care Center. The hospitals in CHI Saint Joseph Health are Flaget Memorial Hospital, Saint Joseph Berea, Saint Joseph East, Saint Joseph Hospital, Saint Joseph Jessamine, Saint Joseph London, Saint Joseph Mount Sterling, and Women’s Hospital at Saint Joseph East. In total, the health system serves patients in 35 counties statewide. CHI Saint Joseph Health is dedicated to providing a wide array of services toward a goal of building a healthier future for all. CHI Saint Joseph Health embodies a strong mission and faith-based heritage and works through local partnerships to expand access to care in the communities it serves.

About Saint Joseph Berea

Saint Joseph Berea is a 25-bed critical access hospital located in Berea, Kentucky. Established in 1898 on the grounds of Berea College, the facility serves residents of Madison, Estill, Garrard, Jackson and Rockcastle counties. Saint Joseph Berea recognizes the importance of family, friends and familiar surroundings in the healing process and provides a breadth of services so that getting first-rate care doesn’t have to mean being far from home.

About Saint Joseph Berea Foundation

Saint Joseph Berea Foundation supports CHI Saint Joseph Health’s drive for excellence by inspiring donors to make a tangible difference through their philanthropic investment in outstanding patient care facilities and services, the education of caregivers, advanced clinical research and improved access to quality medical care.

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