The UAMS East Telehealth Training Center has been operational for a few months but was only just now able to host an open house on Thursday, July 28, 2022. Overall, 21 people attended the event, two of which were virtual. One of those virtual attendees was Dr. Hari Eswaran who kicked off the event with opening remarks, giving background on the satellite training centers, including purpose, funding, and function. He mentioned that the training centers are not just for health care workers. They are for students, IT professionals, patients interested in utilizing telehealth – anyone with a telemedicine want or need that can be met with the resources at hand. Eswaran then turned it over to Dr. Melony Stokes who in tandem with Terri Imus, demonstrated telehealth equipment for the attendees. After a short oration, Stokes demonstrated what a telehealth appointment on a telehealth cart would look like with the help of UAMS East staff. Then she pulled two volunteers from the audience to begin the demonstration. One volunteer acted as the practitioner and the other played the part of the patient. The practitioner used an Eko Digital Live Stream stethoscope, Bluetooth paired to a tablet, to listen to the patient’s heartbeat. Imus walked around the room with headphones, allowing the attendees to listen to the heartbeat just as a provider at a distant location would if it were a real telehealth appointment. Stokes then showed the patient how to use a six lead EKG device on her ankle, and ended the equipment demonstration with the JedMed horus scope, where she used the otoscope attachment to look into a volunteer’s ear canal, which was shown on the telehealth cart via video feed. After the demonstration, the attendees were visibly excited to have such tools and potential in their community and a hearty discussion followed.
“The knowledge obtained from the individuals who attended this event will benefit more than those who were present,” said Imus. “They can take this information and educate their community on the advantages of telehealth and telemedicine.”
One attendee was getting ready to have her second telehealth appointment, saying it really helps her because she doesn’t have to drive two hours to her appointment and two hours back home.
Speaking to the Assistant Area Director for Regional Centers, Stephanie Loveless, after the event, she informed me that the Helena Health Foundation Board members were scheduled to train at the center next month. After that, the local Kiwanis Club, then the local Rotary Club, and she is currently in talks with the nursing program at the Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas, trying to get the students scheduled for telehealth training.
