CONCORD - Gov. John Lynch today applauded the awarding of a Federal Communications Commission grant to the New England Telehealth Consortium, which will provide more New Hampshire health care providers with access to broadband, and praised the efforts of the many New Hampshire citizens and groups who helped develop the proposal.

The FCC awarded the $24.7 million to the consortium, which is comprised of health care providers in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, over the next three years. These funds will be used to expand of broadband to hospitals, health care providers and clinics located in rural areas.

“The awarding of this grant is very exciting news for health care providers here in New Hampshire, particularly in underserved areas in the North Country and western part of our state,” said Gov. Lynch. “Technology can and should do for the health care industry what it has done for virtually every other industry - increase efficiency and productivity. And when we increase efficiency and productivity in health care, we can reduce costs and more importantly, save lives. That is why I believe strongly we should be doing all we can to help bring technology to the health care industry, especially in the rural areas of New Hampshire.”

“I want to thank everyone who was involved in securing this grant for their hard work and willingness to innovate,” Gov. Lynch said.

The grant will be used to connect providers with high-speed Internet service to allow for such things as faster uploading of patients’ records and better access to health care resources across the state, and the nation.

In 2006, the Endowment for Health provided a grant to the New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and Practice at the University of New Hampshire, which worked with health care stakeholders, including the North Country Health Consortium, the Citizens Health Initiative, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and other New Hampshire hospitals, Granite State Distance Learning Network and the College of Health and Human Services at UNHHuman in pursuing the federal grant.

“This grant will help the State of New Hampshire achieve Governor Lynch’s goal of delivering health care in New Hampshire more efficiently and is a great example of how a public/private partnership can improve the delivery and quality of health care here in the state. I want to thank the Endowment for Health and New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and Practice and other members of the consortium for their efforts in securing these funds,” said Paul Spiess, co-chair of the Citizens Health Initiative.