Equitable Access to Telehealth

Since June 2020, the Effingham Public Library has been providing case management services for our community. While this program was born out of the unique needs presented by the pandemic, the needs of our community have continued to evolve. One of the emerging areas of need is access to telehealth and mental health services. Since we serve primarily a rural community, access to broadband and the required technology to support a telehealth appointment are not available to all community members. In addition, awareness of these types of appointments is also low. The Effingham Public Library proposes to purchase equipment to support telehealth appointments at the library as well as the case management services to connect the community members most in need of the service with vital primary and mental health care access.