UAMS Receives $1 Million FCC Grant to Enroll Arkansans in Affordable Connectivity Program for Broadband Internet

By Benjamin Waldrum

LITTLE ROCK — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) awarded the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) $1 million to fund outreach for the commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program, which helps ensure that households across America have access to broadband internet.

The FCC created the Affordable Connectivity Program to help households struggling to pay for internet service. The benefit provides up to $30 per month for internet service and a one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop computer or tablet purchased through participating providers.

“The UAMS Institute for Digital Health & Innovation is committed to seeing affordable, easily accessible broadband in homes throughout Arkansas, and this funding will allow us to collaborate with other leaders statewide to do just that,” said Roy Kitchen, executive director for UAMS e-Link and the principal investigator on the grant.

https://news.uams.edu/2023/07/11/uams-receives-1-million-fcc-grant-to-enroll-arkansans-in-affordable-connectivity-program-for-broadband-internet/

UAMS Hosts United States Telecommunication Training Institute (USTTI) for Digital Health Training Program

By Benjamin Waldrum

Representatives from the United States Telecommunication Training Institute (USTTI) visited the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) Institute for Digital Health & Innovation (IDHI) as part of a three-day digital health training course held March 7-9.

Thirteen international health and technology professionals converged on the UAMS Little Rock campus to learn more about applying digital health practices in their countries.

Several visitors look at a live, virtual display from an otoscope.Benjamin Waldrum

“It has been a privilege for the USTTI to partner with UAMS to provide world class training for 13 international officials,” said James O’Connor, USTTI chairman and CEO. “The participants from Costa Rica, Ghana, Hungary, Namibia, Nepal, Paraguay, Rwanda, Thailand, Uganda and Vietnam are leading digital health initiatives in their countries. The information they gained this week along with the technologies and techniques they have been exposed to will be incorporated into their work and used to save lives when they return home.”

https://news.uams.edu/2023/03/13/uams-hosts-united-states-telecommunication-training-institute-ustti-for-digital-health-training-program/

Representatives from USTTI speak with Terri Imus, RN (foreground right) as a virtual EKG display is passed around. The three-day event showcased various aspects of digital health technologies at UAMS. Image by Benjamin Waldrum