“Ensuring the adoption of electronic health records to use to exchange information among healthcare providers and public health authorities and to redesign workflows within healthcare settings, all depends on having a qualified pool of workers,” said Dr. David Blumenthal, HHS National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
The agency has plans to make $80 million in grants available to help develop and strengthen the HIT workforce. The grants include $70 million for community college training programs and $10 million to develop educational materials to support these programs. These grants are the first in a series of programs to help strengthen and support the health IT workforce.
The Community College program will establish intensive, non-degree training that can be completed in six months or less by individuals that have a background in healthcare or in the IT fields. Participating colleges will coordinate their efforts through five regional consortia that will span the nation.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
HIT Progress Discussed
The “e-Health Policy Congressional Luncheon Seminar” took place on Capitol Hill November 19th, to discuss the Administration’s activities relating to health information technology. The speakers focused on legislation affecting the field, HIT workforce development, HRSA’s grant programs, HIT Policy Committee and Standards Committee’s plans, funding for community health centers, and in general, discussions centered on what is ahead for the health technology community.
Neal Neuberger, Executive Director of the Institute for e-Health Policy and moderator, reported that since 1993, the Congressional Steering Committee has held more than 130 briefings plus technology demonstrations to discuss telemedicine, eHealth, and HIT. As Neuberger said, “The sponsoring senators and representatives and their staffs have played an important role in enabling the seminars to continue and to keep providing invaluable information.”
He mentioned several bills presently under consideration. One of the bills introduced by Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) is the “Rural TECH Act of 2009” to improve community health. The bill would establish three telehealth pilot projects in place to analyze clinical health outcomes and the cost effectiveness of telehealth systems in medically underserved and tribal areas.
In addition, the bill would expand access to stroke telehealth services under the Medicare program, improve access to “store and forward” telehealth services in IHS and federally qualified health centers, and reimburse IHS facilities as originating sites.
Other bills mentioned at the briefing would help healthcare providers purchase electronic health records. The House just passed the Small Business Health IT Financing Act (H.R 3014). A similar bill was also introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) to enable SBA to make loans to help providers to purchase hardware, software, and other technology to support EHRs. Both bills would allow $350,000 for any single qualified eligible professional and $2,000,000 for a single group of affiliated qualified eligible professionals.
In another recent legislative move, the “Small Business Early Stage Investment Act” (H.R. 3738) that passed would provide grants to help finance early stage small businesses in targeted industries such as information technology, life sciences, and digital media. The grants are not to exceed 100,000,000.
Several members of Congress stopped by the briefing. Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) reports that in Rhode Island there is a high rate for e-prescribing usage with 70 percent of healthcare providers in the state on the way to adopting electronic records.
Representative Kennedy continued to say, “Consumers are beginning to realize that they have a tremendous stake is seeing their EHRs and PHRs integrated. Today if everyone had a PHR it would really be beneficial and help the country deal with the current flu pandemic. To deal effectively with this worldwide health issue, we need to be interconnected and have readily available information on the ever changing flu situation. Interconnecting EMRs and PHRs would make it possible for everyone to be interconnected not only nationally but globally.
Representative David Wu (D-OR) Chair of the House Science Committee’s Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, has been a strong leader and proponent along with other groups to bring HIT workforce training to the forefront. It is estimated that 40,000 rural health workers will be needed in the near future with others in the field making higher estimates.
He also pointed out the important role that standards play. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) is working full force on developing the standards needed with the $20 million they received from HHS.
According to Johanna Barraza-Cannon, Director, Division of Health IT Policy, Office of Health IT, at HRSA, HRSA is working very hard to expand the use of HIT. Recently, $27.8 million went to health center-controlled networks and large multi-site health centers to implement electronic health records and other health information technology innovations.
Specifically, funding is supporting EHR implementation and grants totaling more than $2.6 million and to help grantees implement a variety of HIT innovations, including the creation of health information exchanges. Another five grants totaling over $2.5 million will help health centers use EHRs.
Barraza-Cannon reported that HRSA provides assistance to help healthcare professionals by providing technical assist tools, conducting workshops and webinars, helping others to select EHRs, educating consumers, and providing a web site at http://findanetwork.hrsa.gov to help interested parties find a network.
Christine Bechtel, Vice President for the National Partnership for Women & Families, explained how she is sometimes questioned as to how her organization relates specifically to health issues. She pointed out that her organization’s major effort is to help women and families in difficult circumstances provide economic security for their families. This means that it is very important for all women and families to have access to quality and affordable healthcare.
Bechtel, as a member of the HIT Policy Committee put in place to advise the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) explained how the committee relates to the ONC and to the Standards Committee. She emphasized that the HIT Policy Committee makes recommendations to ONC on developing and adopting a nationwide health information infrastructure including standards for the exchange of patient medical information. Following that action, ONC then delivers the information to the Standards Committee.
She told the audience that the goal is to have a definition of “meaningful use” in place by 2011 with a proposed rule scheduled to be published by December 31. Request for public comments will follow with the final rule to be published.
Michael R. Lardiere, LCSW, Director, Health IT and Senior Advisor, Behavioral Health, National Association of Community Health Centers, informed the luncheon crowd that Community Health Centers serve 20 million people at more than 7,000 sites located throughout all 50 states and U.S. territories. In addition the Health Centers serve 20 percent of low income uninsured people, provide comprehensive care, and save the national healthcare system between $9.9 billion and $17.6 billion a year.
As Lardiere mentioned, health center-controlled networks are very important. For example, it was recently announced by HHS Secretary Sebelius that over $2 million alone would go to Colorado to fund health center-controlled networks and large multi-site health centers to implement EHRs and other HIT innovations. These funds are part of the $2 billion allotted to HRSA under ARRA to expand healthcare services to low income and uninsured individuals through the health center program.
He continued to say the plan is to use $1.5 billion for Community Health Center Capital Programs available from Recovery Act funding. So far, Capital Improvement Program Grants have funded 2,614 projects totaling $455,754,510 to provide construction repair, renovations, and equipment purchases including HIT.
Brian Wagner, Senior Director of Policy and Public Affairs, eHealth Initiative, oversees policy, government relations, and media efforts for the organization. He sees government successfully driving health technology, sees the benefits of using technology to outweighing the costs, but he also knows that it is essential for the user to be able to master the technology.
He looks to 2010 for a time when things in the field will start happening. For starters, the eHealth Initiative is going to hold their annual conference on January 25-26, 2010 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C. to discuss and debate how to deal with the rapidly changing world of HIT. Discussions will be held on policies as to what is possible and what is practical.
The Conference will highlight how eHealth is being implemented across the country, and the plan for the country to move towards the universal “meaningful use” of health information technology by 2014.
Neal Neuberger, Executive Director of the Institute for e-Health Policy and moderator, reported that since 1993, the Congressional Steering Committee has held more than 130 briefings plus technology demonstrations to discuss telemedicine, eHealth, and HIT. As Neuberger said, “The sponsoring senators and representatives and their staffs have played an important role in enabling the seminars to continue and to keep providing invaluable information.”
He mentioned several bills presently under consideration. One of the bills introduced by Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) is the “Rural TECH Act of 2009” to improve community health. The bill would establish three telehealth pilot projects in place to analyze clinical health outcomes and the cost effectiveness of telehealth systems in medically underserved and tribal areas.
In addition, the bill would expand access to stroke telehealth services under the Medicare program, improve access to “store and forward” telehealth services in IHS and federally qualified health centers, and reimburse IHS facilities as originating sites.
Other bills mentioned at the briefing would help healthcare providers purchase electronic health records. The House just passed the Small Business Health IT Financing Act (H.R 3014). A similar bill was also introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) to enable SBA to make loans to help providers to purchase hardware, software, and other technology to support EHRs. Both bills would allow $350,000 for any single qualified eligible professional and $2,000,000 for a single group of affiliated qualified eligible professionals.
In another recent legislative move, the “Small Business Early Stage Investment Act” (H.R. 3738) that passed would provide grants to help finance early stage small businesses in targeted industries such as information technology, life sciences, and digital media. The grants are not to exceed 100,000,000.
Several members of Congress stopped by the briefing. Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) reports that in Rhode Island there is a high rate for e-prescribing usage with 70 percent of healthcare providers in the state on the way to adopting electronic records.
Representative Kennedy continued to say, “Consumers are beginning to realize that they have a tremendous stake is seeing their EHRs and PHRs integrated. Today if everyone had a PHR it would really be beneficial and help the country deal with the current flu pandemic. To deal effectively with this worldwide health issue, we need to be interconnected and have readily available information on the ever changing flu situation. Interconnecting EMRs and PHRs would make it possible for everyone to be interconnected not only nationally but globally.
Representative David Wu (D-OR) Chair of the House Science Committee’s Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, has been a strong leader and proponent along with other groups to bring HIT workforce training to the forefront. It is estimated that 40,000 rural health workers will be needed in the near future with others in the field making higher estimates.
He also pointed out the important role that standards play. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) is working full force on developing the standards needed with the $20 million they received from HHS.
According to Johanna Barraza-Cannon, Director, Division of Health IT Policy, Office of Health IT, at HRSA, HRSA is working very hard to expand the use of HIT. Recently, $27.8 million went to health center-controlled networks and large multi-site health centers to implement electronic health records and other health information technology innovations.
Specifically, funding is supporting EHR implementation and grants totaling more than $2.6 million and to help grantees implement a variety of HIT innovations, including the creation of health information exchanges. Another five grants totaling over $2.5 million will help health centers use EHRs.
Barraza-Cannon reported that HRSA provides assistance to help healthcare professionals by providing technical assist tools, conducting workshops and webinars, helping others to select EHRs, educating consumers, and providing a web site at http://findanetwork.hrsa.gov to help interested parties find a network.
Christine Bechtel, Vice President for the National Partnership for Women & Families, explained how she is sometimes questioned as to how her organization relates specifically to health issues. She pointed out that her organization’s major effort is to help women and families in difficult circumstances provide economic security for their families. This means that it is very important for all women and families to have access to quality and affordable healthcare.
Bechtel, as a member of the HIT Policy Committee put in place to advise the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) explained how the committee relates to the ONC and to the Standards Committee. She emphasized that the HIT Policy Committee makes recommendations to ONC on developing and adopting a nationwide health information infrastructure including standards for the exchange of patient medical information. Following that action, ONC then delivers the information to the Standards Committee.
She told the audience that the goal is to have a definition of “meaningful use” in place by 2011 with a proposed rule scheduled to be published by December 31. Request for public comments will follow with the final rule to be published.
Michael R. Lardiere, LCSW, Director, Health IT and Senior Advisor, Behavioral Health, National Association of Community Health Centers, informed the luncheon crowd that Community Health Centers serve 20 million people at more than 7,000 sites located throughout all 50 states and U.S. territories. In addition the Health Centers serve 20 percent of low income uninsured people, provide comprehensive care, and save the national healthcare system between $9.9 billion and $17.6 billion a year.
As Lardiere mentioned, health center-controlled networks are very important. For example, it was recently announced by HHS Secretary Sebelius that over $2 million alone would go to Colorado to fund health center-controlled networks and large multi-site health centers to implement EHRs and other HIT innovations. These funds are part of the $2 billion allotted to HRSA under ARRA to expand healthcare services to low income and uninsured individuals through the health center program.
He continued to say the plan is to use $1.5 billion for Community Health Center Capital Programs available from Recovery Act funding. So far, Capital Improvement Program Grants have funded 2,614 projects totaling $455,754,510 to provide construction repair, renovations, and equipment purchases including HIT.
Brian Wagner, Senior Director of Policy and Public Affairs, eHealth Initiative, oversees policy, government relations, and media efforts for the organization. He sees government successfully driving health technology, sees the benefits of using technology to outweighing the costs, but he also knows that it is essential for the user to be able to master the technology.
He looks to 2010 for a time when things in the field will start happening. For starters, the eHealth Initiative is going to hold their annual conference on January 25-26, 2010 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C. to discuss and debate how to deal with the rapidly changing world of HIT. Discussions will be held on policies as to what is possible and what is practical.
The Conference will highlight how eHealth is being implemented across the country, and the plan for the country to move towards the universal “meaningful use” of health information technology by 2014.
New Jersey's Plans for HIT
ARRA funding includes $564 million to use for HIT planning and implementation activities conducted by the states. The Federal government has announced that it is distributing these funds through the “State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program.” Each state will receive between $4 million and $40 million based on a formula.
Originally, planning began in January 2008, when the state of New Jersey created a HIT Commission to identify short-term priorities and long term goals to establish HIT in the state. The Commission brought together a broad base of stakeholders from across the healthcare industry to include clinical professionals, healthcare executives, health information technology experts, and several departments of state government.
The same legislation created the Office of e-HIT in the Department of Banking and Insurance. This resulted in the Commission and the Office of e-HIT working closely together to develop a state plan for electronic health records and health information exchanges.
According to a study conducted by Avalere with grant funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield, there are several key findings that needed to be considered by the state when planning for HIT.
First of all, the state has higher than average hospital bed capacity and higher than average rates of hospital admissions, some hospitals are in relatively poor and declining financial conditions, there is a need for cost avoidance strategies, measuring quality is an issue, plus accessible measures are needed to assess the quality and efficiency of services provided in the state.
In addition, the physician community is fragmented and tends to be organized into solo or small group practices with little impact from the growth of managed care plans over the past ten years. There appears to be limited efforts at integration into larger groups specifically in areas of northern New Jersey.
The study found that the state is a net exporter of healthcare resources. This means that a higher percentage of New Jersey residents seek care from out-of-state providers compared to the number of out-of-state residents who travel to New Jersey for care. This has implications concerning the exchange of health information across health institutions and across state lines.
The “New Jersey Plan for Health Information Technology” recently finalized supports Medicaid funding for electronic medical records, supports Regional Extension Centers created under ARRA, supports Electronic Medical Records in physician practices, seeks broadband expansion, mandates the interoperability and expansion of community HIEs.
The state is supporting local and regional coalitions of medical providers through Health Information Exchanges with federal grants that will be administered by the state Department of Health and Senior Services. In August 2009, the state released a Request for Applications seeking regional health information exchange projects and accepted applications September 2009, and by October, the state began to seek funding from the federal government.
Originally, planning began in January 2008, when the state of New Jersey created a HIT Commission to identify short-term priorities and long term goals to establish HIT in the state. The Commission brought together a broad base of stakeholders from across the healthcare industry to include clinical professionals, healthcare executives, health information technology experts, and several departments of state government.
The same legislation created the Office of e-HIT in the Department of Banking and Insurance. This resulted in the Commission and the Office of e-HIT working closely together to develop a state plan for electronic health records and health information exchanges.
According to a study conducted by Avalere with grant funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield, there are several key findings that needed to be considered by the state when planning for HIT.
First of all, the state has higher than average hospital bed capacity and higher than average rates of hospital admissions, some hospitals are in relatively poor and declining financial conditions, there is a need for cost avoidance strategies, measuring quality is an issue, plus accessible measures are needed to assess the quality and efficiency of services provided in the state.
In addition, the physician community is fragmented and tends to be organized into solo or small group practices with little impact from the growth of managed care plans over the past ten years. There appears to be limited efforts at integration into larger groups specifically in areas of northern New Jersey.
The study found that the state is a net exporter of healthcare resources. This means that a higher percentage of New Jersey residents seek care from out-of-state providers compared to the number of out-of-state residents who travel to New Jersey for care. This has implications concerning the exchange of health information across health institutions and across state lines.
The “New Jersey Plan for Health Information Technology” recently finalized supports Medicaid funding for electronic medical records, supports Regional Extension Centers created under ARRA, supports Electronic Medical Records in physician practices, seeks broadband expansion, mandates the interoperability and expansion of community HIEs.
The state is supporting local and regional coalitions of medical providers through Health Information Exchanges with federal grants that will be administered by the state Department of Health and Senior Services. In August 2009, the state released a Request for Applications seeking regional health information exchange projects and accepted applications September 2009, and by October, the state began to seek funding from the federal government.
USDA Funds DLT Program
USDA announced that 111 projects for $34.9 million in grants will to go to 35 states to increase educational opportunities and to expand access to healthcare services in rural areas. The funding will be provided through USDA’s Rural Development’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program. The program’s goal is to help expand telecommunications, educational resources, and computer networks throughout rural communities. The funds are part of USDA’s annual budget and are not part of ARRA.
In general, the DLT grants going to health organizations and hospitals throughout the country ranged from $62,000 to $500,000. The grants went to facilities in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine Michigan Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Some of the specific funding examples include:
• Avera Health in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to receive $396.693 to provide video conferencing and telemedicine services to connect 16 rural hospitals and clinics to regional medical facilities in Sioux Falls, Yankton, and Aberdeen
• Georgia Partnership for Telehealth, Inc. to receive $436,218 to add 14 Tele-Trauma sites in the state
• Brazos Valley Community Action Agency in Texas to receive $233,831 to use telemedicine to help provide health and educational services in the surrounding counties
• Oklahoma State University for Health Sciences to receive $287,013 to establish video conferencing and other telemedicine equipment to use to consult with four rural clinics and to provide rural medical education
• St Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma to receive $493,638 to serve as a hub for six rural hospitals to provide for a video teleconferencing network, to introduce imaging and interactive consultations, and to provide medical education for emergency services
• Iowa’s Clarke County Public Hospital to receive $356,243 to purchase video conferencing equipment and devices to connect the hospital to local sites
• Baptist Health in Arkansas to receive $295,357 to fund a critical care medical network to connect six rural medical centers and a major hospital site in Little Rock
In general, the DLT grants going to health organizations and hospitals throughout the country ranged from $62,000 to $500,000. The grants went to facilities in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine Michigan Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Some of the specific funding examples include:
• Avera Health in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to receive $396.693 to provide video conferencing and telemedicine services to connect 16 rural hospitals and clinics to regional medical facilities in Sioux Falls, Yankton, and Aberdeen
• Georgia Partnership for Telehealth, Inc. to receive $436,218 to add 14 Tele-Trauma sites in the state
• Brazos Valley Community Action Agency in Texas to receive $233,831 to use telemedicine to help provide health and educational services in the surrounding counties
• Oklahoma State University for Health Sciences to receive $287,013 to establish video conferencing and other telemedicine equipment to use to consult with four rural clinics and to provide rural medical education
• St Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma to receive $493,638 to serve as a hub for six rural hospitals to provide for a video teleconferencing network, to introduce imaging and interactive consultations, and to provide medical education for emergency services
• Iowa’s Clarke County Public Hospital to receive $356,243 to purchase video conferencing equipment and devices to connect the hospital to local sites
• Baptist Health in Arkansas to receive $295,357 to fund a critical care medical network to connect six rural medical centers and a major hospital site in Little Rock
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Broadband News
USDA’s Rural Utilities Service and Commerce’s NTIA released a joint Request for Information (RFI) seeking public comments on the Broadband Initiative Program and the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. This is the second joint RFI issued by both agencies since the enactment of ARRA. The comments received will help the agencies gather information and help develop the second round of funding and must be received by November 30th.
In additional efforts to fund broadband, USDA has selected 22 projects in ten states to receive $13.4 million in broadband Community Connect grant funds. The grant program provides financial assistance to furnish broadband service in unserved, often isolated, rural communities. The grants are used to help critical facilities such as fire or police stations, while also serving the community. The project must also provide for a community center where community residents can obtain free broadband service for the first two years.
The grants will fund $564,000 to go to the Yurok Tribe located on a reservation along the northwest coast of California to provide for wireless broadband services to the reservation. A community center will be refurbished with free internet access to tribal residents. In addition to the Yurok Tribe, the Round Valley Indian Tribes of the Round Valley Indian Reservation in California also received $474,886 in funding.
The “Community Connect” program awarded Nexus Systems, Inc. with a $924,308 grant to provide wireless broadband services to Enterprise, Louisiana where the volunteer fire department and the community center will receive free broadband service for two years. Nexus Systems will also provide the community with web-based services such as web hosting and video conferencing services for public meetings.
Other states receiving “Community Connect” grants include Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia.
The “Community Connect” program is also helping in Alaska. In 2006, the Alaska Power & Telephone Company received a $1,031,133 grant to establish a wireless broadband system in the Native community of Kasaan. In order to provide service to this remote Southeast Alaska community, the construction of an antenna system on a mountaintop was required and constructed.
The grant also provided laptop computers and video conferencing services to the community center where a server was installed so local residents could store personal files. The wireless service has improved connectivity and attracted a number of cellular telephone companies that came to the area to install infrastructure resulting in enabling residents to be able to use more dependable mobile telephone services.
With other USDA Rural Development funding, Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown N.Y. now uses digital mammography via a broadband network to connect Cooperstown with three remote sites to a mobile mammography unit. Digital breast screening images are relayed instantly through the network, enabling oncology experts to consult with patients and other healthcare providers in real time.
This program started in 2006, when USDA awarded Bassett Healthcare a $500,000 telemedicine grant to help purchase the digital mammography equipment at four sites and helped them purchase a 40 foot long mobile mammography unit and build the broadband network. The mobile unit has greatly improved access to mammography screening for women living in Bassett’s rural 8,000 square mile service area.
In state activities, Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky, has recently announced the launch of the “Coal to Broadband: Making the Transition, Making the Connection” program to bring broadband service to Breathitt, Estill, Lee, and Powell counties in the state. These counties are the bottom 25 counties in Kentucky to have broadband available. Both Breathitt and Lee counties are the two lowest served counties in the state, with both counties having below 50 percent availability of broadband to the home. Nearly 7,000 homes in the four counties do not have high speed internet available in the home.
The “Coal to Broadband” program will use multi county coal severance dollars along with Appalachian Regional Commission funds to bring broadband to the Eastern Kentucky regions.
In additional efforts to fund broadband, USDA has selected 22 projects in ten states to receive $13.4 million in broadband Community Connect grant funds. The grant program provides financial assistance to furnish broadband service in unserved, often isolated, rural communities. The grants are used to help critical facilities such as fire or police stations, while also serving the community. The project must also provide for a community center where community residents can obtain free broadband service for the first two years.
The grants will fund $564,000 to go to the Yurok Tribe located on a reservation along the northwest coast of California to provide for wireless broadband services to the reservation. A community center will be refurbished with free internet access to tribal residents. In addition to the Yurok Tribe, the Round Valley Indian Tribes of the Round Valley Indian Reservation in California also received $474,886 in funding.
The “Community Connect” program awarded Nexus Systems, Inc. with a $924,308 grant to provide wireless broadband services to Enterprise, Louisiana where the volunteer fire department and the community center will receive free broadband service for two years. Nexus Systems will also provide the community with web-based services such as web hosting and video conferencing services for public meetings.
Other states receiving “Community Connect” grants include Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia.
The “Community Connect” program is also helping in Alaska. In 2006, the Alaska Power & Telephone Company received a $1,031,133 grant to establish a wireless broadband system in the Native community of Kasaan. In order to provide service to this remote Southeast Alaska community, the construction of an antenna system on a mountaintop was required and constructed.
The grant also provided laptop computers and video conferencing services to the community center where a server was installed so local residents could store personal files. The wireless service has improved connectivity and attracted a number of cellular telephone companies that came to the area to install infrastructure resulting in enabling residents to be able to use more dependable mobile telephone services.
With other USDA Rural Development funding, Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown N.Y. now uses digital mammography via a broadband network to connect Cooperstown with three remote sites to a mobile mammography unit. Digital breast screening images are relayed instantly through the network, enabling oncology experts to consult with patients and other healthcare providers in real time.
This program started in 2006, when USDA awarded Bassett Healthcare a $500,000 telemedicine grant to help purchase the digital mammography equipment at four sites and helped them purchase a 40 foot long mobile mammography unit and build the broadband network. The mobile unit has greatly improved access to mammography screening for women living in Bassett’s rural 8,000 square mile service area.
In state activities, Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky, has recently announced the launch of the “Coal to Broadband: Making the Transition, Making the Connection” program to bring broadband service to Breathitt, Estill, Lee, and Powell counties in the state. These counties are the bottom 25 counties in Kentucky to have broadband available. Both Breathitt and Lee counties are the two lowest served counties in the state, with both counties having below 50 percent availability of broadband to the home. Nearly 7,000 homes in the four counties do not have high speed internet available in the home.
The “Coal to Broadband” program will use multi county coal severance dollars along with Appalachian Regional Commission funds to bring broadband to the Eastern Kentucky regions.
NINDS Will Publish RFA
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) will issue a Request for Application (RFA) to find applicants to redesign the “Parkinson’s Disease Data Organizing Center” (PD-DOC). There is a need for a resource to collect and share data related to clinical and transactional research on Parkinson’s disease and then to develop a centralized repository of the clinical data from both observational studies and clinical trials.
This resource is needed to:
• Serve as a repository for data from large clinical research studies in Parkinson’s disease, including clinical trials as well as epidemiological and genetic studies. Data is needed from academia, non-profit disease organizations, and industry and needs to include clinical as well as genetic, imaging, and neuropathology data elements
• Link clinical data with other data sets including imaging, pathology, genetic, and biospecimens in an easily searchable format
• Develop a flexible open source web-based data entry system to facilitate the design, implementation, and harmonization of new clinical research studies in Parkinson’s disease
• Serve as a centralized listing of Parkinson’s disease related resources for sample collection, antibodies, and animal models
• Provide outreach to promote data standardization, data sharing, and the usefulness of the PD-DOC resource as well as provide oversight of data access
NINDS anticipates a total budget of $5.5 million for the project for over five years. The RFA is expected to be published in December 2009 or January 2010 and applications will be due April 30, 2010.
For information on Notice (NOT-NS-10-003), email Wendy Galpern, M.D., PhD at galpernw@ninds.nih.gov. Go to http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-NS-10-003.html to read the full notice.
This resource is needed to:
• Serve as a repository for data from large clinical research studies in Parkinson’s disease, including clinical trials as well as epidemiological and genetic studies. Data is needed from academia, non-profit disease organizations, and industry and needs to include clinical as well as genetic, imaging, and neuropathology data elements
• Link clinical data with other data sets including imaging, pathology, genetic, and biospecimens in an easily searchable format
• Develop a flexible open source web-based data entry system to facilitate the design, implementation, and harmonization of new clinical research studies in Parkinson’s disease
• Serve as a centralized listing of Parkinson’s disease related resources for sample collection, antibodies, and animal models
• Provide outreach to promote data standardization, data sharing, and the usefulness of the PD-DOC resource as well as provide oversight of data access
NINDS anticipates a total budget of $5.5 million for the project for over five years. The RFA is expected to be published in December 2009 or January 2010 and applications will be due April 30, 2010.
For information on Notice (NOT-NS-10-003), email Wendy Galpern, M.D., PhD at galpernw@ninds.nih.gov. Go to http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-NS-10-003.html to read the full notice.
Enhanced Disease Surveillance
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in their “Emerging Pandemic Threats Program” (EPT) is building disease surveillance and training programs, especially for avian and pandemic influenza. The focus of the EPT program is to pre-empt or combat at their sources newly emerging diseases of animal origin that could threaten human health.
In recent times, 75 percent of all new human illnesses such as HIV, SARS, Avian Influenza, and H1N1 have emerged as a result of the convergence of people, animals, and our environment. The speed by which they can spread across the increasingly interconnected globe makes it difficult to identify, contain, and respond when new viruses first emerge. It is essential to identify these viruses before they move to full scale human to human transmission.
USAID just awarded the Academy for Educational Development (AED) a non-profit located in Washington D.C., a five year multimillion dollar cooperative agreement called “PREVENT”. The plan is to develop and implement effective behavior changes and communications interventions to reduce the risk of emerging zoonotic diseases.
“AED will work in emerging infectious diseases under the PREVENT agreement. With the threats from avian flu and now pandemic HINI influenza, more people recognize the critical importance that communication can play in helping to control disease outbreaks,” said Margaret Parlato, Senior Vice-President and Director of AED’s Global Health, Population, and Nutrition Group.
AED just released the code for GATHERdata™ which is a system to collect data that can shave off weeks of data reporting and analysis. With built in business intelligence modules, the system integrates data analysis and report generation into a seamless process. In tracking incoming epidemiological reports, the system can automatically send urgent messages to alert authorities of potentially dangerous situations.
Because it is open source, GATHERdata ™ reduces cost barriers that typically render this advanced technology out of reach for small organizations and institutions in developing countries. To support these users, AED is creating a web site for collaborative development of the GATHER code to be able to share the technology, new applications, and electronic forms.
Other programs within USAID working to detect and control outbreak responses are:
• The PREDICT program has a five year cooperative agreement with experts in wildlife surveillance at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Wildlife Conservation Society, Wildlife Trust, the Smithsonian Institute, and Global Viral Forecasting Inc. The goal is to monitor geographic hot spots to identify the emergence of new infectious diseases in high risk wildlife
• The IDENTIFY program is working with the U.N. World Health Organization, U.N Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health through existing grants that will develop laboratory networks
• The RESPOND program has a five year cooperative agreement to work with Development Alternatives Inc., University of Minnesota, Tufts University, Training and Resource Group, and Ecology and Environment Inc., to focus on the development of outbreak investigation and response training
• The PREPARE program has a three year cooperative agreement with the International Medical Corps to provide technical support for simulations and the field testing of national, regional, and local pandemic preparedness plans
In recent times, 75 percent of all new human illnesses such as HIV, SARS, Avian Influenza, and H1N1 have emerged as a result of the convergence of people, animals, and our environment. The speed by which they can spread across the increasingly interconnected globe makes it difficult to identify, contain, and respond when new viruses first emerge. It is essential to identify these viruses before they move to full scale human to human transmission.
USAID just awarded the Academy for Educational Development (AED) a non-profit located in Washington D.C., a five year multimillion dollar cooperative agreement called “PREVENT”. The plan is to develop and implement effective behavior changes and communications interventions to reduce the risk of emerging zoonotic diseases.
“AED will work in emerging infectious diseases under the PREVENT agreement. With the threats from avian flu and now pandemic HINI influenza, more people recognize the critical importance that communication can play in helping to control disease outbreaks,” said Margaret Parlato, Senior Vice-President and Director of AED’s Global Health, Population, and Nutrition Group.
AED just released the code for GATHERdata™ which is a system to collect data that can shave off weeks of data reporting and analysis. With built in business intelligence modules, the system integrates data analysis and report generation into a seamless process. In tracking incoming epidemiological reports, the system can automatically send urgent messages to alert authorities of potentially dangerous situations.
Because it is open source, GATHERdata ™ reduces cost barriers that typically render this advanced technology out of reach for small organizations and institutions in developing countries. To support these users, AED is creating a web site for collaborative development of the GATHER code to be able to share the technology, new applications, and electronic forms.
Other programs within USAID working to detect and control outbreak responses are:
• The PREDICT program has a five year cooperative agreement with experts in wildlife surveillance at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Wildlife Conservation Society, Wildlife Trust, the Smithsonian Institute, and Global Viral Forecasting Inc. The goal is to monitor geographic hot spots to identify the emergence of new infectious diseases in high risk wildlife
• The IDENTIFY program is working with the U.N. World Health Organization, U.N Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health through existing grants that will develop laboratory networks
• The RESPOND program has a five year cooperative agreement to work with Development Alternatives Inc., University of Minnesota, Tufts University, Training and Resource Group, and Ecology and Environment Inc., to focus on the development of outbreak investigation and response training
• The PREPARE program has a three year cooperative agreement with the International Medical Corps to provide technical support for simulations and the field testing of national, regional, and local pandemic preparedness plans
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