September 2008 - Southern/Central California Rural Roundtable - Telemedicine Applications - Ridgecrest Regional Hospital
                        
CSRHA and Ridgecrest Regional Hospital (RRH) welcomed over 25 attendees and 5 video conferencing sites, representing a diverse cross-section of California’s extended rural health community, for the Joint Southern/Central California Rural Roundtable on September 5, 2008 in Ridgecrest, CA. The topic of discussion was Health Information Technology (HIT) and telemedicine applications that enable healthcare providers to better serve the healthcare needs of rural residents and often, tourists visiting remote rural areas.

Ridgecrest, a city of roughly 27,000 people, is located in the southern portion of the Indian Wells Valley and in the northeast corner of Kern County, surrounded by four mountain ranges; the Sierra Nevada on the west, the Cosos on the north, the Argus Range on the east, and the El Paso Mountains on the south (City of Ridgecrest Webpage). It is also the gateway to Death Valley, a popular hot spot for tourists, bringing over one million visitors per year, according to Dr. Earl Ferguson, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Telemedicine, Outreach and Rural Health Care Development.

RRH is a small, 55-bed acute care hospital, and is the 4th largest employer in its community. RRH has been utilizing telemedicine applications since 2000. The advantage of human and capital resources, and forward looking people to utilize leading technologies to increase health access, has allowed for RRH to meet the health needs of its community and experience tremendous growth in the last year. 

RRH first turned to telemedicine because of the lack of required specialist providers in their community. With the nearest tertiary care hospital being a two hour drive away, the lack of local and specialized health services exacerbated other resources to fill the gaps. Ridgecrest decided it would adapt to these challenges, and see them instead as opportunities. They now have been holding over 30 high-definition, interactive Telemedicine consultations per week and have increased their ER capacity by 20%.  At the Rural Roundtable, RRH was able to share their promising practices and lessons learned in the implementation of telemedicine technologies, and to be a resource for others interested in utilizing these technologies.

Jean Fuller, Chair, California Legislative Rural Caucus, kindly started off the roundtable through a video recording she provided that introduced her to roundtable attendees, and clarified the role healthcare advocates play in educating and guiding the work of state legislators.  Presentations by Dr. Earl Ferguson, and RRH staff covered the areas of funding, coordinating, recruiting, and troubleshooting for the purposes of bringing leading HIT to their community.

Drs. Kim Horowitz, M.D., Sierra Family Care, and Kiki Nocella, Ph.D., CSRHA Board President, gave a special case study presentation of the East Kern County Integrated Technology Association (EKCITA): A federally funded, public/private partnership technology project formed by the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District, two Rural Health Clinics, and fourteen private medical practices. The goal of the EKCITA community-wide electronic medical records system is to improve quality of patient care and chronic disease management in the rural region of East Kern County. Drs. Horowitz and Nocella advocated Health Information Exchange (HIE) as an effective bridge to the health care gaps created by time and distance, and emphasized that telemedicine, electronic health records, personal health records, data sharing and the concept of Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) offer a solution to the need for accurate and timely communications leading to appropriate decision making and improved outcomes. 

The presentations, the ability to video conference and the subsequent discussions that took place made for an exciting and dynamic experience at this year’s Southern/Central Rural Roundtable. Our gratitude goes to the people, the technologies and the opportunities that allow for more connectivity and cooperation amongst rural areas in California.

The theme for this roundtable was decided upon by attendees weeks prior to the meeting, so please look forward to us inquiring of you the topics you would like to see discussed at the next rural roundtable.

Our thanks go to Ridgecrest Regional Hospital staff, the presenters, the technical experts, and Dr. Earl Ferguson for his pioneering spirit and inspiration. CSRHA looks forward to continuing its facilitation of opportunities for rural health professionals and community leaders of California to develop their skills, identify resources and assets, and collaborate for a concerted effort towards change.

Article posted on 10/22/08