The Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center in North Carolina has received an $870,000 grant to expand its successful remote monitoring service to more rural families. In the last three years, the first phase of the project drove down hospitalization rates to record lows, in some cases to zero.
Successful statewide telemedicine program receives grant from North Carolina Trust FundIdeal Life, Inc. has announced that its wireless remote monitoring devices have been selected for use in a state-funded healthcare project in six rural North Carolina communities. The $870,000 grant is the largest Phase II Health Disparities Grant awarded by the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission (HWTF), which utilizes North Carolina’s share of the national tobacco settlement to fund programs that promote preventative health.
The grant provides funds for Phase II of a HWTF Health Disparities Initiative; Phase I was a successful three-year telehealth program that recently concluded with positive outcomes and high patient satisfaction levels.
(Editor’s Note: We followed this project, directed by Bonnie Britton, RN, Telehealth Clinical Network Director/Development Director for North Carolina’s Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center (RCCHC) in Ahoskie, NC as it evolved over those three years. For background on the Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center telehealth project, which began in four counties and became so successful that it went statewide, see our stories from October 4, 2006, March 12, 2008 and September 17, 2008. The last in the series includes an on-camera interview with Bonnie Britton.)
Over the next three years, approximately 400 Medicaid patients with heart failure or cardiovascular disease will
monitor their weight fluctuations with the Ideal Life Body Manager, a digital body weight scale and blood
pressure device. The program provides timely intervention for individuals who have a sudden increase in body
weight. Each blood pressure device and scale wirelessly and automatically sends readings to healthcare professionals who monitor the data and intervene if necessary by contacting the patient’s primary care provider.
During previous phases, this level of monitoring drastically reduced hospital visits, emergency room usage and hospital admissions, making a significant difference in the lives of those without close proximity to major medical centers.
“No other remote monitoring vendor could provide customized reports or integrate with our current EMR system, and that’s what we needed to obtain future NC Medicaid reimbursement,” said Nurse Britton. “The cost savings was a significant factor, too. Ideal Life has definitely broken the price point glass ceiling.”
RCCHC was the first federally-qualified health center in the nation to implement a community-based telehealth
network. The newly awarded HWTF Phase II grant will replicate the program’s successful Phase I in six community clinics in North Carolina. Participating community health centers include Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center, Bertie Rural Health, Greene County Health Services, Kinston Community Health Center, Rural Health Group, Tri-County Community Health Center, and Cabarrus Community Health Center.
“We are confident that Ideal Life will help us deliver better healthcare to one of the most disadvantaged regions in the U.S.,” said Kim Schwartz, CEO of RCCHC. “Remote monitoring is an extremely cost-effective way for us to extend the reach of our rural healthcare workers and improve public health.”
IDEAL LIFE’s Bluetooth-enabled products are designed for use with any mode of communication, including cell
phones, telephone lines, and the Internet. “Remote monitoring programs like this hold great promise for underserved and remote populations all across the nation,” said Jason Goldberg, President and founder of IDEAL LIFE. “This is the future. This is 21st-century healthcare at its best.”
(HCTR editor Tim Rowan interviewed Jason Goldberg at the 2009 American Telemedicine Association meeting. That video interview is still available on the ATA web site, or by clicking here.)
About Ideal Life
Based in Toronto, Canada, Ideal Life is a multinational company that delivers health information through secure, mobile, FDA-approved, wireless telehealth products. Bluetooth vital sign devices communicate through a passive receiver that attaches to telephone line or network cable. The communicator can be discretely hidden away, leaving only the measurement devices visible. An open technology platform supports customization and integration with existing information-based systems.
www.ideallifeonline.com
About Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center
Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center is a not-for-profit organization, governed by a volunteer Board of
Directors, committed to providing quality service and comprehensive healthcare – regardless of the ability to pay – to meet the needs of the rural community, including the uninsured. RCCHC is a Federally Qualified Health Center and an associate member of the NC Community Health Center Association. The Center includes Murfreesboro Primary Care, Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center-Ahoskie and Colerain Primary Care.
www.rcchc.org
About the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund
The NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund makes North Carolina stronger, both physically and economically, by funding programs that promote preventive health. Created by the General Assembly in 2000 to allocate a portion of North Carolina’s share of the national tobacco settlement, HWTF has invested $199 million to support preventive health initiatives and $102 million to fund prescription drug assistance programs.
www.HealthWellNC.com
