Distance Learning and Telemedicine Comes to Southeast Ohio

In 2008 and 2009, Adena Health Systems was funded by the USDA’s Distance Learning & Telemedicine Program to bring telemedicine technology to a total of thirteen health care providers in Adams, Athens, Highland, Jackson, Meigs, Pike, Ross and Vinton counties. These sites will be outfitted with mobile video conferencing/telemedicine carts created by Tandberg that feature high-definition video and high-fidelity audio as well as being paired with cutting edge diagnostic equipment. Adena’s Chillicothe campus will serve as the hub for this system. The carts are scheduled to be delivered to Adena by March, 2011. The thirteen end-user sites are:

• Adams County: HealthSource of Ohio, Seaman
• Athens County: Albany Medical Clinic; Doctors Hospital of Nelsonville
• Highland County: Greenfield Area Medical Center; Highland District Hospital; Highland Family Medicine; HealthSource of Ohio, Greenfield
• Jackson County: Jackson-Vinton Community Action Primary Care Clinic, Wellston; Adena HealthCare, Jackson
• Meigs County: Family HealthCare, Inc., Middleport
• Vinton County: Family HealthCare, Inc., McArthur
• Ross County: Adena Regional Medical Center, Chillicothe
• Pike County: Pike Community Hospital, Waverly

The telemedicine network will be competitively neutral, allowing physicians at each facility the flexibility of selecting specialists from throughout Ohio and beyond, available via the SOHCN interconnection with OSCnet. Rural physicians and their patients will benefit from the expertise of urban specialists without the need for expensive and time-consuming travel.

The distance learning aspect of this project represents an equally important opportunity for the region, its health care providers and consumers. With this grant, rural physicians and allied medical staff will use a combination of video conferencing and web conferencing to expand their continuing medical education needs. Community outreach workshops can also be offered to improve health literacy in our region, addressing the need not only for care, but for preventative medicine and expanding wellness education. This web conferencing system also provides “rooms” for asynchronous learning and collaboration. The end result? Rural health care professionals will be able to maintain ongoing discussions with experts from around the state in virtual rooms dedicated to treating and curing Appalachian Ohio’s most prevalent and persistent medical conditions like diabetes and childhood obesity.

News from The American Telemedicine Association:



When is Fiber Coming to My Facility?

Fiber has been deployed to healthcare facilities under contract in Ross, Pike, Scioto, Highland, Pickaway, Jackson, Athens and Vinton counties. Bookmark this site for updates on the progress of the SOHCN build-out.

Here is a list of regional healthcare facilities that are in the processes of getting connected:

• 8 Adena Health System sites
• 4 Family Health Care, Inc sites
• 5 Holzer Health System sites
• 4 O’Bleness Health System sites
• Discussions are underway to connect 21 additional sites

Want more information about the SOHCN? Email inquiries@sohcn.org or call (740) 592-2950.