The Virginia Telehealth Network (VTN) is working to support the initial design, development, testing and evaluation of a model stroke network across the Central Shenandoah region.
Sponsored by the Virginia Department of Health, Office of Minority Health and Public Health Policy and funded by a grant issued by the National Office of Rural Health Policy, the primary objective of this initiative is to improve the availability and use of health information technology within Critical Access Hospitals and the regional hospitals that support them in efforts to improve the health outcomes of rural populations—specifically as it relates to the prevention and treatment of stroke and related co-morbidities.
At the federal level, this grant program is known as the Critical Access
Hospital-Health Information Technology Grant (CAH-HIT) program. At the state level, this project is considered Phase 1 of a larger statewide stroke initiative entitled the Virginia Acute Stroke Telehealth Network or VAST.
As part of the VAST initiative, Bath Community Hospital
(a Critical Access Hospital), is working with the University of Virginia, Rockingham Memorial and Augusta Medical Center to identify, understand and analyze stroke systems of care from a regional viewpoint. The process will identify problems and/or weaknesses across the entire stroke continuum of care and formulate interventions that combine clinical best practices with health information technologies (HIT) to enhance the quality and timeliness of stroke care.
It is expected that this project will lay the foundation for an integrated
stroke network for the Central Shenandoah region—not only in support of Bath
Community Hospital and its rural population—but for all Virginians residing
across this region. Further, it is envisioned that this demonstration will
produce valuable tools and methods that will serve as a blueprint for statewide
implementation.
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