MUSC receives grant to expand telehealth services in rural communities

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Medical University of South Carolina received a $1.5 million federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The funding supports the establishment of the South Carolina Rural Telehealth Workforce Pipeline Network and brings together statewide collaborations like this one with MUSC’s Regional Health Network.

The university has partnered with different rural communities in the state like Williamsburg and Florence Counties.

Ragan DuBose-Morris with the university says through this grant they plan on providing experiences like internships and shadowing opportunities for local students in these areas who have an interest in healthcare and technology.

This is because they need a workforce that is trained and located in proximity to the services provided and traditional healthcare training often does not address the actual application of telehealth.

DuBose-Morris says students will learn from experts in the field because there are not a lot of existing telehealth providers.

“We are looking to place students in these communities where they already live and work so that they are able to support their local hospitals, their local community health centers in ways that make it so they can stay locally,” DuBose-Morris says.

Officials say this is the fruition of a lot of planning that will hopefully support the growth of rural communities through new types of jobs. She also says rural counties will continue to benefit from telehealth growing and being a viable career opportunity for many clinicians, educators, and technicians.

Click here to learn more about the MUSC telehealth network.

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