Success Stories - Hear our Success Stories
The Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center exit disclaimer icon (NRTRC) wanted to help people with little experience using technology. The Health Resources and Services Administration funds the NRTRC. The NRTRC created a class for digital navigators exit disclaimer icon. They learned how to teach patients to use computers and smartphones and how to connect to the internet.
The digital navigator training has many helpful tools. It includes information on how to get connected to the internet. There are maps to help patients find public places for a telehealth visit if needed.
American Telemedicine Association
Our partnership with the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers (NCTRC) brings an important dimension to our mission, and we are pleased to offer a robust platform to amplify and support the TRCs’ critical work implementing telehealth programs in rural and underserved communities.
From Telehealth Awareness Week to regional TRC events around the country, together we are creating opportunities to advance telehealth education and expand access to needed virtual care services. Experts from the TRCs are actively involved in our Special Interest Groups (SIGs), adding valuable perspective, expertise and real-world insights to a variety of projects and publications. And we are thrilled to feature the TRCs at our Nexus annual conference, fostering broad collaborations with our members and industry stakeholders, and adding their voice to pivotal discussions.
We applaud HHS and HRSA for their foresight and commitment to building sustainable telehealth programs and improving health outcomes for rural and underserved communities through the work of the TRCs. The ATA is privileged to partner with the consortium, and we look forward to expanding our work together.
Ann Mond Johnson, CEO, the ATA
Texas Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (TX RMOMS)
I signed up for the Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center's (NRTRC) QI Telehealth Course to learn about ways to improve the quality of telehealth services for TX Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (TX-RMOMS) Program. I have been the Program Coordinator since its inception in September 2019. This is a HRSA-funded program awarded to University Health with the goal of improving access to and continuity of maternal and obstetrics care in rural communities of Bexar, Val Verde, Maverick, Uvalde and surrounding counties.
One of the TX RMOMS Health Network goals is to eliminate transportation barriers for high-risk maternal patients who, until now, had to endure up to a six-hour roundtrip from their rural locations to appointments with Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) providers in San Antonio, TX. The telehealth component will allow these maternal patients to schedule the required detailed anatomy sonogram at their rural hospital and have the consult with an MFM Provider (in San Antonio) on the same day, eliminating the need to travel. Under the program, sonographers from the rural hospitals received training from the University of Texas Lead Maternal-Fetal Medicine Sonographer to perform these types of sonograms locally.
When the course started, TX RMOMS had just completed the purchase of needed software and interface needed for connectivity with Uvalde Memorial Hospital, where we will begin this new protocol. Taking the course allowed me to develop a Project Charter and a Workflow that has been instrumental in the initial steps to complete the interface and to improve the communication with the IT Team. This is crucial to the sustainability of the telemedicine component as the RMOMS Program enters its final year of funding.
More than anything, the course offered me the guidance and expertise of the NRTRC Team. I know that, as TX RMOMS continues its telemedicine project, I will always have a team of experts available for questions or support.
Community Health Network of Connecticut
I work for a group of 7 FQHCs in Connecticut as the Executive Director of our Telehealth Network. Now that Telehealth has become an accepted means of furnishing care, our next hurdle is to level the digital inequity playing field for our most underserved patients. One of the ways we are doing this involves the use of Digital Navigators. The (Navigating the Telehealth Neighborhood) training program seems like one of the most comprehensive training resources for this purpose that I have seen. The fact that it is fully self-paced, so someone can spend as much or as little time as they wish on any particular section or topic, makes me think that it will become part of the standard on-boarding training for those of my centers hiring Navigators. Kudos to Jaleen and her team for creating this great resource, and to NRTRC for making it available to all. Richard Albrecht, CHNCT Holdings Inc.
For this course and more, visit our online training portal.
A successful collaborative work effort between two Telehealth Resource Centers, gpTRAC and NRTRC
In December of 2022, Great Plains Telehealth Resource and Assistance Center (gpTRAC) received a Technical Assistance (TA) request from the Medical Director for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) in South Dakota. The inquiry asked for any information or justification for previous tribal telehealth development and implementation that the CRST tribe could utilize for implementation. As the question was related to a tribal organization, gpTRAC reached out to the team at the Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center, (NRTRC) and asked if they could make an introduction to Anthony Torres, Special Project Manager and Network Administrator, Utah Navajo Health System, Blue Mountain Hospital. Anthony spoke at the National Consortiums Telehealth Resource Center’s Spring 2022 meeting in Park City, Utah, hosted by NRTRC, about the remarkable telehealth program they had developed for the Utah Navajo Health System.
Within only a few hours of the request, Anthony Torres and Verlyn Hawks, with the Utah Navajo Health System, responded to NRTRC’s request providing gpTRAC with an abundance of information about their tribal telehealth program along with offering their assistance. The Medical Director for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe remarked that the information received from the Utah Navajo Health System was helpful and insightful, complimenting the justifying telehealth information received from gpTRAC!
Gonzaga University
Please accept our thanks and gratitude at Gonzaga University for your (NRTRC) excellent Telehealth presentation to our nurse practitioner students at Gonzaga University.
Your (NRTRC) attention to so many key points related to clinical practice, your obvious expertise, and your ability to make the information meaningful in addressing the "need to know pearls," all contributed to the student and faculty reactions of "Awesome" and "So Helpful" when they evaluated your presentation. You (NRTRC) clearly covered the quadruple aims of telehealth in cost reduction, quality improvement, enhancing the patient experience, and access for patients and providers of health care. Because of your clinical expertise you painted the whole picture as to patient concerns when telehealth shines as an exemplar connection and when it may not.
Thank you for teaching the students about current best practices. You (NRTRC) always encourage questions and answer them in a way that promotes deeper thought and more questions! The information that you so knowledgeably teach has become a very important part of our student's practice."
With Gratitude,
Nurse Practitioner Students, Faculty
Deborah W. Smith DNP, ARNP, FNP-BC, Senior Lecturer Gonzaga University
OneHealth Bighorn Valley Health Center
The Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center has been helpful in understanding the newest Medicare information regarding Mental Health visits. The new Medicare information that FQ is for audio only visits is a bit frustrating given that there is no real definition provided by CMS on what "telecommunications" means.
As an individual who grew up having the definition of telecommunications mean all kinds of different things, including email, fax, telephone, using internet application to communicate with others, and using web cams and microphones to also communicate using an application over the internet, it was difficult to know what "audio only telecommunications" means.
Many other things I have read state the FQ modifier is for telehealth visits without a visual component. Which to me doesn't sound like a telephone is acceptable for. But with the NRTRC's help, now I understand that telephone is considered audio-only.
Click here to see the NRTRC Telehealth Codes and Services Tool
The Sole Doc, LLC
Dr. Wilma Hunt-Watts, Telemedicine Ambassador
The Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center (NRTRC) has been exemplary in its ability to disseminate up-to-date, state-of-the-art data to healthcare providers like myself who rely on accurate telehealth information. Recently, while preparing for a keynote speech on telehealth, the NRTRC was one of the first sites I researched to help build my presentation. While attending their regularly rescheduled webinars I witnessed leaders in the field share their invaluable experiences which has helped to broaden my knowledge base as well as gain connections in the area of telemedicine I didn't know existed. We have all experienced the rapidly changing landscape of Telemedicine and the NRTRC is the beacon we all needed to help guide us. In my opinion, its organizations like the NRTRC that will help make a difference in the adoption, success and integration of telemedicine as a viable option during this digital transformation where telehealth continues to reshape our health care ecosystem.
University of Utah School of Medicine
Dr. Stephanie Lyden, Assistant Professor of Vascular Neurology
Telehealth is a rapidly expanding technology that has been adopted by various medical professionals as a new means of care delivery. However, many medical schools lack formal training of their students in how to conduct these visits. There is also a lack of awareness in how this technology is used within different subspecialties. I teach a course for medical students that aims to provide a foundational understanding of the current practice of telemedicine and telemedical devices across multiple sub-specialties. It gives instruction on the practical application of how to complete telemedicine consultation in the outpatient and emergent care settings. Through this curriculum, we hope to equip our students with an operational skill set that will better prepare them to enter the evolving world of telemedicine. As part of this course, we require students complete the NRTRC's Telehealth 101 Course. I feel that this is a great foundational overview of telehealth. We have received great feedback from students regarding the content in this module, and I would highly recommend this module to individuals hoping to gain a well-rounded overview of telehealth.
King County Library System
In July of 2020 the NRTRC received a technical assistance request from the only primary care clinic on Vashon Island, WA., stating that they were in danger of closing down unless they could find another provider system to assume operations of the clinic by the fall of 2020. They were exploring their options which included telehealth, triggering the technical assistance request.
The NRTRC team met with the clinic and provided resources for telehealth support. Since that initial meeting, the Vashon Island clinic has signed a contract with another community health clinic, and the contract is still in place.
In September 2021, the NRTRC received a technical assistance request from Kings County Library System in Washington state, which wanted guidance on how to create telehealth sites. Given the proximity to Vashon Island, the NRTRC reached out to Vashon Healthcare and put them in contact with the Kings County Library system. The NRTRC then contacted a provider at Kings County Health Department in Seattle, that had asked for help in 2020 regarding access for their diverse population of patients, and connected that organization with the library system.
University of Idaho ECHO Program
The Power of Project ECHO in Idaho . Funded by Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA) COVID CARES and the Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center (NRTRC)
Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a program replicated worldwide to address regional healthcare concerns. Like Project ECHO programs everywhere, the ECHO Idaho model uses spoke-and-hub video conference dissemination to connect rural FQHC physicians, nurses, counselors, pharmacists and other professionals with specialists in face-to-face, real-time collaborative sessions.
The State of Healthcare in Idaho
Idaho’s need for improved healthcare is urgent. According to the United Health Foundation, the state ranks 50th for practicing physicians per capita, and the entire state is a designated mental health workforce shortage area according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.
“The reality of limited access to specialists means primary care providers must treat patients with complicated conditions, yet, isolation in rural communities can make it difficult for providers to get professional development and support to provide care that follows the most up-to-date standards,” said Lachelle Smith, director of ECHO Idaho. “That’s the gap ECHO Idaho tries to fill.”
Rates of suicide and drug overdose deaths have steadily risen over the last 10 years and in many parts of the state are nearly double the national average, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Compounding this landscape, many of Idaho’s healthcare professionals are nearing retirement and recruitment of young professionals to work in rural communities can be challenging.
Andy Bradbury, M.D., a physician and the chief medical officer for the Rexburg Free Clinic, has attended ECHO Idaho sessions since its inception in 2018.
“ECHO Idaho provides new perspective on difficult cases, reinforces some of my conclusions and allows me to proceed with more confidence,” Bradbury said. “I make time for it because it helps me stay in-line with evidence-based medicine rather than risk drifting due to my solo practice in a rural area.”
ECHO Heard Throughout State During Pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic began sweeping the nation, ECHO Idaho was already a trusted source of state-specific healthcare information. With infrastructure to host virtual meetings, an experienced staff and an engaged network already in place, ECHO Idaho was able to design a COVID-19 program within two weeks.
“We could plan a high-impact COVID-19 program quickly because of support from the CARES funding in collaborations with the Northwest Regional Telehealth Regional Center (NRTRC) and partners like the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare,” Smith said. “We were intrinsically motivated to deliver facts about the disease to Idaho’s practitioners and administrators so they could make informed decisions on treatment options, infection control, immunizations, variants and more.”
ECHO Idaho’s initial COVID-19 session exceeded attendance records; 730 healthcare providers, educators and state leaders joined virtually or called in ― including Idaho Gov. Brad Little. The series concluded on June 29, 2021 and through those 15 months ECHO Idaho’s COVID-19 series connected 1,153 rural and urban healthcare workers, lawmakers and administrators in 40 of Idaho’s 44 counties. Of those, 875 people were first-time ECHO Idaho participants. ECHO Idaho is looking ahead to introduce series that address healthcare challenges in Idaho such as pediatric autism, geriatric primary care and diabetes.
‘A Community of Knowledge’
ECHO Idaho is a simple yet innovative strategy to overcome healthcare challenges in Idaho and helps providers collaborate and support each other. Patients benefit from better care in their home community, and decreased costs can be realized through less travel time to see specialists, reductions in hospitalizations and unnecessary tests/labs.
“ECHO Idaho helps support the existing workforce to provide top-notch patient care now, helps leverage different disciplines to work together and providers develop camaraderie,” Smith said.
Jeff Seegmiller, EdD, director of the Idaho WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) Medical Education Program at the University of Idaho, echoes Smith’s sentiment.
“I love it when a rural clinician brings a challenging case for review and another ECHO participant on the virtual meeting shares what worked for them in their rural town,” Seegmiller said. “We are discovering that there is a community of knowledge in Idaho, and when clinicians participate in this program, their clinical practice improves. That is the beauty of ECHO.”
Lindsay Lodis, Marketing and Communications Manager, ECHO Idaho
Published July 2021
Oregon Office of Rural Health (ORH)
The Oregon Office of Rural Health (ORH) created an ArcGIS Story Map: Oregon Rural Health Clinic Telehealth: 2020 in partnership with the Telehealth Alliance of Oregon (TAO) and the Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center (NRTRC). This work contextualizes and catalogs the health care services that Oregon’s Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) are able to deliver via telehealth. Click here to see this resource.
The Oregon Rural Health Clinic Telehealth: 2020 Story Map will also be available through the Telehealth Alliance of Oregon’s new website when it becomes available early this summer. An announcement will be made when the new site is officially open.
The project was supported by grant number GA5RH37461 from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, Health Resources and Services Administration, DHHS through the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to carry out telehealth and rural health activities. HRSA used CARES funding to support the Telehealth Resource Center Program in preventing, preparing for, and responding to COVID-19.
Gonzaga University
To NRTRC and Program Director Nicki Perisho ,
You have been an invaluable resource for my work as an NP educator at Gonzaga University, an FNP in Idaho, and health care advocate with Nurse Practitioners of Idaho. I look forward to many more collaborations.
With warm regards and gratitude,
Dr. Melanie Nash
Gonzaga University
NRTRC and WASCLA partnered to host a webinar on Feb. 11, to introduce the topics of telehealth and language access services. During the webinar, panelists explained how communication challenges were met, what some of the ongoing issues are, and the benefits of telehealth that merit being made permanent. In addition, first-hand reports were shared from hospital systems in Yakima, Southwest Washington, and metro Seattle, as well as examples from an early childhood development program and communication services for deaf and hard-of-hearing clients.
The NRTRC played an important role in helping WASCLA facilitate the webinar and outline the agenda. With more than 70 participants from across the country, this webinar put the challenges and opportunities of language access to the forefront of people’s minds. Both the NRTRC and WASCLA recognize that building connections between community-based organizations and the telehealth sector is vital to achieve health equity goals.
WASCLA is an education and advocacy organization that works to eliminate language barriers to essential services in Washington and nationally, with health and health care as a major focus. Soon after the pandemic struck, WASCLA began hearing about serious problems for residents with limited English proficiency and for deaf and hard-of-hearing people related to to the COVID-19 response. The NRTRC, WASCLA and the National Technology Telehealth Assessment Center will hold a webinar on language assistance services and telehealth platforms. March 16, 2021. For more information, see the WASCLA website at www.wascla.org.
University of Washington/ Harborview Medical Center Behavioral Health Institute (BHI)
On behalf of the University of Washington/ Harborview Medical Center Behavioral Health Institute (BHI), we gratefully acknowledge the Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center for its amazing support and collaboration with the BHI during this unprecedented public health crisis created by COVID-19.
To meet this healthcare challenge, front line behavioral health providers across Washington State needed to quickly pivot to provide critical ongoing telemental health and substance use disorder treatment and support. To help these providers be prepared to provide quality telemental health care, the BHI quickly initiated a series of trainings for behavioral health providers designed to provide a telemental health foundation from which these providers would be able to provide a wide range of telemental health services for a broad patient population, especially Medicaid and underserved groups.
For these telemental health trainings to be successful, the BHI Telehealth Training team quickly realized it needed to partner with the NRTRC, who welcomed this partnership and generously offered resources such as subject matter expert guidance and the telemental health toolkit. Without the support of the NRTRC, these initial telemental health trainings would not have succeeded. Because of their support, hundreds of behavioral health providers completed this training and are providing critical mental health care to their patients.
It has been a delight to work with the NRTRC staff. We so appreciate how helpful, incredibly responsive, enthusiastic, and generous with their time they have been in supporting our mutual goals, mentoring BHI leadership, and seeking future opportunities for collaboration.
Sincerely,
The Behavioral Health Institute Telehealth Training Team
The Washington State Telehealth Collaborative
The NRTRC has been an invaluable partner to the Washington State Telehealth Collaborative in 2020. In addition to offering support and resources to telehealth practitioners across Washington the NRTRC stepped in and offered their resources to support a state-mandated telehealth training for Washington health professionals. While the Washington State Telehealth Collaborative had the expertise to develop the training content, they did not have the infrastructure to make the training available to health professionals across the state as mandated. When the NRTRC learned of the challenges facing the Collaborative, they generously offered a partnership to help create a training that would meet the stipulations outlined in the bill.
The NRTRC and Washington State Telehealth Collaborative plan to continue working together as partners to support telehealth growth and sustainability in Washington and the Northwest into the future.
Much Gratitude,
The Washington State Telehealth Collaborative
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