(File photo) The headquarters of Harbor Care, the location of its Health & Wellness Center, 45 High St., Nashua.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Newly developed services such as telehealth, remote patient monitoring, digital patient tools and other programs offered under Harbor Care of Nashua’s virtual healthcare initiatives received a significant financial boost, it was announced Monday.

The boost comes in the form of a $2 million allocation in federal funds through the Department of Health and Human Services and the Health Resources and Services Administration, according to a statement issued by a spokeswoman for Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on behalf of all four members of New Hampshire’s Congressional delegation — fellow Democratic U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, and Democratic U.S. Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas.

Nashua-based Harbor Care, formerly Harbor Homes of Greater Nashua, is a network of social services and healthcare-related agencies that assist the area’s “most vulnerable populations” by connecting them with health, housing and social needs resources, Harbor Care CEO and president Peter Kelleher said.

The new funding, Kelleher said, “will help Harbor Care reach clients and community members as never before.

“Over the next two years, we will implement a novel, modern virtual care system for our community’s most vulnerable,” he said, adding that the agency’s goals include providing patient-owned devices that will allow them to meet with clinicians regardless of the technology they own, or their ability to travel.”

Another goal the funding will help Harbor Care achieve, Kelleher said, is the creation of “a virtual dispatch system, so our teams may immediately confer with patients on their health, housing and social needs.”

Shaheen called telehealth “one of the strongest tools at our disposal to connect people with critical health services” at a time when “access to quality healthcare has never been more important as we continue to battle the COVID crisis.”

She pledged to “keep working to ensure New Hampshire’s community health centers have the resources they need … .”

Hassan agreed that the “significant funding to Harbor Care is an important step toward ensuring that all patients” can access care “regardless of where they live or their ability to leave their home.”

She also praised the state’s healthcare providers “for expanding their virtual care options so quickly amid the pandemic.”

Kuster, meanwhile, underscored Harbor Care’s presence as “a vital resource for New Hampshire communities,” and said she is “thrilled that federal funding is heading to Nashua … these federal dollars will make healthcare more accessible to underserved communities.”

Pappas called “critically important” the expansion of telehealth services and access to remote care.

“These services have been a lifeline for Granite Staters throughout the pandemic,” Pappas said, adding that continued funding “will help ensure care is accessible to all … .”

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.