USDA awards telemedicine grant for rural Georgia
Miller County Hospital, Crisp Regional Health Services expected to benefit
Staff Reports
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Sanford D. Bishop on Monday announced that the Rural Development Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a $368,501 Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant for Augusta University Research Institute to implement an emergency telehealth network in rural Georgia.
Bishop spearheaded the creation of a telehealth network with language in the FY 2017 Omnibus Appropriations bill.
“The field of telehealth has the potential to revolutionize our rural health care system,” Bishop said in a news release. “This emergency telehealth network will connect emergency rooms, allowing for increased coordination, cooperation and efficiency. This will improve patient outcomes, as well as lower health care costs. I look forward to Augusta University’s implementation of this noble project, and I applaud the Rural Development Agency’s continued commitment to rural America.”
Augusta University President Brooks A. Keel echoed Bishop’s comments about the telehealth network.
“Residents of rural communities often lack sufficient access to health care services and specialized treatments, with no other option than to travel long distances to Augusta or forego treatment completely,” Keel said “Augusta University can now offer these residents access to the most specialized care without ever leaving their community hospital, with a new a telemedicine network where patients and providers in rural communities can interact in real time with physicians at Augusta University’s health system to diagnose and treat life-threatening conditions and chronic diseases.
“We’re grateful to Rep. Bishop and our state leaders for their support in addressing our state’s rural health care challenges.”
Augusta University will act as the hub for the emergency telehealth network, which will serve five end-user sites, including Miller County Hospital, Crisp Regional Health Services, Emanuel Medical Center, Washington County Regional Medical Center and Wills Memorial Hospital. The project will provide direct two-way links between emergency rooms at the various sites, as well as supply EKG machines, ultrasound systems, video laryngoscopes and digital stethoscopes.
Bishop’s language in the FY 2017 omnibus appropriations bill directed that distance learning and telemedicine grants be used to provide for upgrades to the equipment and facilities of ambulances and other emergency transportation vehicles, and to medical facilities, such as hospital and community health centers. Augusta University is also supplying $57,551 in its own funding for the telehealth network.
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