SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
FOR RELEASE: March 23, 2001
CONTACT: Bernie Osberg
605-773-3364

State awards $252,000 to help rural hospitals implement technology

     PIERRE - Eight rural hospitals will receive grants totaling $252,000 to help develop telemedicine projects and improve patient care, a state health official announced today.

     "We wanted to support projects that could meet the needs of local patients, help hospitals create some cost efficiencies, and serve as pilots for other rural hospitals", said Doneen Hollingsworth, Secretary of Health. Projects funded include school health, home health care, radiology and specialty consults, emergency medical care and distance education. 

     The Platte Health Center, Platte, will receive $30,725 to implement a school health project that enables children to access health professionals while at school. The technology allows a doctor located several miles away to see and hear the child through a video screen thanks to a small camera mounted on the monitor, specialized software, and high bandwidth telecommunications lines. An analog stethoscope lets the doctor hear heart and lung sounds and an electronic otoscope makes ear, nose, and throat examinations possible. Since the Platte, Kimball and White Lake school districts in the area are without school nurses, the technology will provide valuable access to medical personnel. 

     Marshall County Healthcare Center in Britton, Landmann-Jungman Memorial Hospital in Scotland, and Deuel County Memorial Hospital in Clear Lake will each receive $30,000 to implement a telemedicine-based home health care program. Home health care nurses will use telemedicine equipment to provide in-home care to patients under a doctor's supervision. The equipment works over ordinary telephone lines so nurses can visit patients in real time to obtain blood pressure, pulmonary function, and weight to monitor client conditions and determine if changes in care are needed. The technology will permit more frequent monitoring of patients as well as offer potential cost savings for the providers. 

     The Eureka Community Hospital, Eureka, will receive $45,500 to develop a connection to Avera St. Luke's Hospital in Aberdeen using enhanced radiology equipment. The connection will allow x-rays to be taken in Eureka, fed through a film digitizer, and transferred to Avera St. Luke's for specialists to review. The results will be available immediately to the hospital in Eureka, reducing delays for patients. 

     The Flandreau Medical Center, Flandreau, will receive $34,775 to develop digital audio and video connections between two ambulances and the emergency room. Equipment placed in the ambulances will allow doctors at the hospital to examine patients en route to the hospital. The equipment will allow for timely triage and treatment, permit monitoring of vital signs, and provide more accurate information on patient conditions. This pilot project will test the efficacy of using such systems in more remote regions of the state where transport times are longer. 

     The Bowdle Healthcare Center, Bowdle, and Freeman Community Hospital, Freeman, will each receive $25,500 to set up a formal distance learning program for local health professionals. Regardless of size, facilities are required to provide a formal orientation program and ongoing education for all personnel in such areas as fire prevention, infection control, patient restraints, and confidentiality. The training can be costly for rural facilities that must bring in professionals to provide the education. Bowdle will use technology to access distance education from the Mountain Plains Health Consortium in Rapid City and Avera St. Luke’s Telehealth Network in Aberdeen. Freeman will access distance education from the Avera Mckennan Telehealth Network in Sioux Falls.

     "Rural hospitals are working hard to build telecommunications links and get basic technologies in place," said Hollingsworth. "These grants are one way to help rural hospitals start using that technology for real telemedicine applications that can benefit rural residents and providers alike." 

     Hollingsworth said the grant funding comes to the state Department of Health through its participation in the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program.