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Virginia Telehealth Network Executive Director, Cynthia Barrigan, RN, MPH has been appointed to the new Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee. The appointment was made by Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Dr. James B. Peake. The 13-member group will examine ways to enhance Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care services for veterans in rural areas by evaluating current programs and identifying barriers to health care.
“I am very honored to be a part of this very select and important committee,” Barrigan said. “My work with the VTN should be a great asset to the committee and Secretary Peake as we thoroughly explore the issues, become better informed and provide meaningful recommendations. And in turn, what I learn through this process will hopefully be of great value to VTN and our rural health stakeholders.”
Barrigan is one of four veterans on the committee.
Said Peake, “This distinguished panel includes strong advocates for the needs of VA patients in rural areas. This is an important step in expanding access to VA’s world-class health care system for veterans.”
James F. Ahrens, former head of the Montana Hospital Association and former member of the Montana governor’s task force on healthcare will chair the committee.
On May 15th, telestroke was the subject of a
special session of the Capital Hill Steering Committee on Telehealth and
Healthcare Informatics. The session was held in collaboration with the American
Heart Association, American Telemedicine Association and attended by VTN boad
members Dr. Karen Rheuban, Medical Director of the Office of Telemedicine, University of Virginia
and Gene Sullivan, Director, Office of Telemedicine, University of Virginia, VTN Executive Director, Cynthia
Barrigan, VTN Project Officer, Andrea Lomboy and Dr. Nina Solenski, Associate Professor in Neurology University of Virginia Stroke Center.
The session featured presentations from Paul Katz, MD,
Medical Director of the Renown Institute for Neurosciences, Comprehensive Stroke
Center in Reno, Nevada and Adnan H. Siddiqui, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor Neurosurgery and Radiology within the Department of Neurosurgery
at the Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital, Buffalo, New York.
Dr. Katz presented on a telestroke program operating in
northern Nevada. He told the Committee and attendees that a study of their
telestroke program not only showed a significant increase in the frequency with
which thrombolytic therapy was used, but they also saw improved overall
outcomes as well.
Link to slides of
Nevada TeleStroke
Program
Dr. Siddiqui presented on the stroke care challenges in New
York that in 2004 began their process of creating a "hub-and-spoke" telestroke
program that had its "phase 1" launch in September 2006 with two hospitals
acting as "hubs." Today, New York state has 97 hospitals Designated Stroke
Centers. Their experience is that the Designated Stroke Centers need to be
augmented by a "Comprehensive Stroke Center" that offers 24/7 stroke team,
imaging center, endovascular team, rapid response and a neuro ICU.
Link to slides of
New York TeleStroke Program
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| Dr. Nina Solenski, Associate Professor in Neurology UVa Stroke Center , Stephanie Mohl, Government Relations Manager, Federal Advocacy Group, American Heart Association, middle, and Gene Sullivan, Director, Office of Telemedicine, UVa. |
Dr. Nina Solenski, left, Associate Professor in Neurology UVa Stroke Center, and Cynthia Barrigan, right Executive Director, VTN. |
Neal Neuberger is the newest member to join the VTN Board of Directors.
He is President of Health Tech Strategies, LLC, a Virginia-based consulting firm focused on the public and private sector policy environment surrounding emerging health care technologies. He co-founded, and continues to coordinate, the 15 year old Capitol
Hill “Steering Committee on Telehealth
and Healthcare Informatics.”
Link to
News Release
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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