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October
29, 2004
USDA grant to assist U.P.dialysis patients
A
grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will make life a little
easier for
patients receiving dialysis treatments in
outlying areas of the Upper Peninsula. A $176,421 telemedicine grant from
USDA Rural Development to Marquette General Health System will allow for
live video conferencing between patients at three rural dialysis centers
and medical specialists in Marquette.
“This grant represents the Bush Administration’s commitment
to improving the quality of life in rural America,” said Hilda Gay
Legg, administrator of Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Program. “This
technology will provide rural residents access to medical specialists without
having to travel hours from home.”
Legg traveled from Washington, D.C. to announce the grant in Marquette on Thursday,
Oct. 28. This is the fourth grant from Rural Development that has helped build
the Upper Peninsula Telehealth Network.
The new grant will be used to provide wireless telemedicine services within
dialysis centers in Hancock, Newberry and Crystal Falls. Dialysis patients
will be able to receive clinical services, and their caregivers will access
continuing education programs via the systems.
"Without financial support from Rural Development, healthcare organizations
in the region could not have afforded the technology many patients in outlying
communities now count on," said Sally Davis, director of Telehealth at MGHS.
Marquette General Health System was named one of the nation’s 100 most
wired (computerized health systems). The results were listed in the 2004 Most
Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study, conducted by Hospitals & Health Networks,
the journal of the American Hospital Association.
Funding of the project will be contingent upon meeting the conditions of the
grant agreement.
The Telehealth
Department at Marquette General Health System is the proud recipient
of a $176,421
telemedicine grant from USDA Rural
Development that will allow for live video conferencing between patients
at three rural dialysis centers and medical specialists in Marquette.
On
Thursday, Oct. 28, the check for $176,421 was presented to Marquette
General in the MGHS Conference Center. From left are Sally Davis, Program
Director
of
Telehealth and Grants Administration at MGHS; Hilda Gay Legg, administrator
of Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Program; Dr. Jerry Napier,
an internal medicine/nephrologist on staff at Marquette General; Dale
Sherwin, Michigan State Director for USDA Rural Development; Bill Nemacheck,
Chief
Executive Officer at Marquette General; and Sheri Davie, Regional Manager
for U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow. (MGHS photo)
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