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The Virginia Telehealth Network welcomed three new members to its Board of Directors as a part of its regular meeting held Wednesday, October 1, 2008. The meeting, which was held at the University of Virgnia Medical Center, marked the beginning of the second year for the Board.
In announcing the new members, Board President, Karen Rheuban, MD said, “The entire Board is looking
forward to working with, and benefiting from, the extensive experience and expertise that each of the new
members are bringing with them. They are valuable additions to our Board."
New Board members are:
Diana Giles, Chief Financial Officer for Bay Aging, a non-profit, charitable organization serving the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula of Tidewater, VA.
Link to Biography
James A.L. Mathers, Jr. MD, FCCP, partner with Pulmonary Associates of Richmond, Richmond VA. He is also the 2008/2009 president of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).
Link to Biography
Rome Walker, MD, Medical Director for Health & Preventive Services for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Virginia.
Link to Biography
The Virginia Acute Stroke Telehealth (VAST) network now has two RP-7
(Remote Presence) robots in place for evaluation. One unit is at Bath
Community Hospital and the other is in operation at University of Virginia
Medical Center.
Through the robot's wireless, two-way, voice, visual and
data communications capabilities, specialists can assess a patient's condition
without being physically at their bedside. This capability would enable
specialist located in urban medical centers to have their expertise immediately
available for patient care in rural hospitals.
In the case of stroke, the
program will evaluate if this remote assessment capability can have a positive
impact on rural hospital use of the clot-busting and life-saving drug, t-PA. If
a patient is properly diagnosed and given t-PA within three hours of stroke
onset, long-term stroke affects can be mitigated. However, if misdiagnosed,
the drug can be fatal, which is why a specialist is required to conduct the
patient assessment before t-PA is administered.
Operated remotely by the physician, the RP-7 can move from location to location within the hospital and be fully operational without any assistance from hospital staff.
A portion of the VAST evaluation will be to assess if this level of system
self-containment benefits system utilization. Benchmark surveys of
hospital personnel are indicating a high level of acceptance for the RP-7.The
RP-7 is being used by health care networks throughout the country and the U.S.
military for many health care applications beyond stroke evaluation. The
innovative technology represents a solution to helping bridge the rural health
care gap, giving patients the benefits of having equal access to many different
levels of medical specialties as those who live in urban centers.
This first phase of the VAST Network implementation is scheduled to run
through February, 2009.
UVA News Release — UVA Neurologists Participating in New Initiative to Improve Care
Of Stoke Patients in Rural Communities
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| The RP-7,
being operated remotely by a Bath physician, enters Bath Community Hospital's Emergency Room and visits with Ms. Jenny May, CNA. |
Dr. Redington, Bath’s Chief Medical Officer, gets familiar with the RP-7 Controller as he operates the robot. |
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| At the University of Virginia the effectiveness of the RP-7 will be evaluated in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU),
the neurologic intensive care unit and the emergency department. Receiving an orientation to the robot are (from left to right): Senior PICU fellow Dr. Rick Lehman, UVA Office of Telemedicine Director Gene Sullivan, UVA Office of Telemedicine Medical Director Dr. Karen Rheuban, and Stroke
Educational Coordinator Lorna Ballowe, RN. Appearing on the RP-7 screen is PICU Patient Care Manager Annette Stiltner, RN.
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