[1st-mile-nm] NM Telehealth

[Richard Lowenberg]

I was hoping to post a link to yesterday's article in the Santa Fe New
Mexican, titled "Telehealth grid expands for better rural care", noting
the FCC grant, previously reported about on this list, and of the work of
Dr. Dale Alverson, with UNM's Telehealth Center, and others.   I have not
been able to find the link, though.

Here, however, is a late Feb. article from the Business Journal, on the
same topic.
rl
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New Mexico Business Weekly - February 29, 2008
http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2008/02/25/daily31.html

UNM Health Sciences plans $15.5 million telehealth grid

The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center's Center for
Telehealth and Cybermedicine Research has been awarded $15.5 million from
the Federal Communications Commission for the design, construction,
operation and evaluation of a Southwest Telehealth Access Grid.

Telehealth and telemedicine services can provide patients in rural areas
access to medical specialties in areas like oncology, cardiology,
pediatrics and radiology -- in some instances without leaving their homes
or communities. It will allow patients to heal and recover in a more
familiar environment. The system also could be transitioned for emergency
use in the event of a natural or other disaster.

The grid will be developed as part of the federal commission's Rural
Health Care Pilot Program, a three-year, $417 million nationwide project
that will build an infrastructure for a network of 69 statewide or
regional broadband telehealth sites. The program will use broadband
capabilities for sharing telemedicine clinical services across sites and
will provide education and training programs to rural health care
professionals.

More than 500 health-related facilities in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada,
California, Texas and Utah, including Indian Health Services, ultimately
will be served by the Southwest Telehealth Access Grid.

The grid is a partnership between the University of New Mexico, the
Arizona Telemedicine Program and the Southwest Indian Health Service
Telehealth Consortium and associated tribes.

The consortium comprises the Center for High Performance Computing, the
university's Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, the New Mexico
Institute of Mining & Technology, New Mexico State University, the state
Department of Health, the Arizona Telemedicine Program, Holy Cross
Hospital, Presbyterian Medical Services, Sangre de Cristo Community Health
Partnership and the Southwest Indian Health Service.

 American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.


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Richard Lowenberg
P.O.Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-989-9110,  505-603-5200 cell

1st-Mile Institute
New Mexico Broadband Initiative
www.1st-mile.com
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