Several years ago, members from The Rural Broadband Association (NTCA) met with the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) Office of Rural Health to discuss ways to increase veterans’ use of telehealth services. In a subsequent meeting that included VA and White House staff, NTCA members affirmed their commitment to use their networks to enable veterans’ access to better health care. In response to these meetings and in consultation with members and VA representatives, NTCA developed the Virtual Living Room, a model that would create venues at which veterans could use free, high-speed broadband to connect to VA telehealth and other online services.
Working closely with the VA and other local leaders, Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative (PRTC; McKee, Ky.) leveraged a grant from the NTCA Smart Rural Communities initiative to build a comfortable, accessible space for the veterans in its community.
Check out this article from The Rural Broadband Association to learn more about this successful project.
To learn more about the VLR program and find resources to connect with your local VA, click here.