Four Connecticut rural hospitals awarded $46 million to expand imaging, telehealth and transport services

# What happened

# How each hospital plans to use the funds

• Award: $20.2 million (largest single hospital award)
• Planned uses: replace an MRI trailer with a permanent advanced imaging facility, expand patient transport, deploy remote patient monitoring and expand virtual care initiatives. Hospital leadership says imaging upgrades will reduce the need for patients to travel elsewhere.

Charlotte Hungerford (Torrington) and Windham Hospital (Willimantic)

• Collective award: $12.6 million
• Charlotte Hungerford specific plan: create Connecticut's first mobile stroke unit — an ambulance fitted with CT and ultrasound equipment and telehealth connections to doctors — and expand telehealth and inpatient monitoring services.
• Windham: funds will expand telehealth and monitoring (details grouped with Charlotte Hungerford in the announcement).

• Planned uses: expand virtual care and rehabilitation services and launch a healthy aging program.

# Statewide funding and oversight

• Beyond the hospital awards and the Mathematica contract, $104 million of Connecticut's federal Rural Health Transformation allocation will fund more than 100 contracts across 30 projects. These projects involve 10 state agencies, including the Department of Public Health, Office of Early Childhood, Department of Education and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
• Projects cover workforce development in rural areas, maternity and postpartum services, mobile health services and nonclinical initiatives such as the expansion of a multiuse trail to encourage outdoor fitness.
• Connecticut submitted its first annual progress report to the federal agency (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) on Aug. 31. CMS will monitor deployment of funds, and annual reports will influence future funding levels.

# Why this matters locally The grants target concrete gaps cited by the hospitals: outdated or temporary imaging facilities, limited transport and monitoring capacity, and the need for expanded virtual care in low-density areas. Funding for a mobile stroke unit addresses the time-sensitive nature of stroke care in remote parts of the state.

# What officials said DSS Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves noted Connecticut received more than the federal program base because of prior work done in the state. Day Kimball's CEO described the imaging replacement as the first step and called the package "transformative" for keeping services local. Statewide project director Daniel Sinclair described federal oversight as "pretty rigorous." The governor offered public thanks at the announcement.

# Practical takeaways for patients and communities

• Imaging and advanced diagnostics will be more available locally at Day Kimball once the fixed facility is built.
• Stroke care response will expand to northwestern Connecticut through Charlotte Hungerford's planned mobile stroke unit.
• Telehealth, remote monitoring and transport services will expand at multiple hospitals, which can reduce travel burdens for rural patients.
• Broader statewide investments will touch workforce, maternal services and mobile health efforts that affect rural communities beyond the four hospitals.

# Next steps to watch

• Implementation timelines and locations for the new imaging facility, mobile stroke unit and expanded transport/telehealth services.
• Annual progress reports to CMS, which will shape continuing funding and accountability.
• How the $104 million in statewide projects is allocated among the 30 initiatives and 100-plus contracts.