Bay Rivers Telehealth Alliance, who provides implementation and support services for School-Based Telehealth Services for Virginia schools, recommends the following use of ARPA Federal funds to aid building capacity and expansion of school-based telehealth services to serve more children, adolescents, and their families in need of quality primary care and behavioral/mental health care services.

• Investment in telehealth equipment, video-conference applications, and broadband to support school-base telehealth services
• Recruitment and retention of school staff to manage the school telehealth program (student enrollment, coordination of telehealth visits, assisting with telehealth visits, Medicaid billing for originating site facility fee)
• Recruitment and retention of primary care and behavioral/mental health care clinicians to support increased need of services, especially in the area of behavioral/mental health services
• Investment in medical supplies for primary care telehealth appointments (telehealth equipment disposables for peripheral devices, flu/strep/covid-19 testing swabs)

Funding is needed to help sustain existing school-based telehealth programs that were previously grant funded, as well as funding to help implement school-based telehealth programs in additional Virginia school districts.  This funding will enable more children and adolescents of low income families to receive high-quality health care, where otherwise these children and adolescents may not receive adequate care due to parent's inability to afford time off from work or cost of travel expense to take their child to medical appointments.  With a school-based telehealth program, students can have a telehealth appointment with a primary care clinician in the school clinic.  There is an increased need of behavioral/mental/substance use services for children and adolescents.  School-based telehealth provides an avenue for students to be seen by a behavioral/mental health clinician through telehealth while the student is at school or at home.