BroadbandOhio, a division of the Ohio Department of Development, has selected OCHIN as the statewide telehealth regulator to help expand health care services for Ohio’s K-12 students.
WHY IT IMPORTANT
The new initiative is intended to help administrators in at least 10 counties roll out telehealth programs for schools.
According to the announcement, BroadbandOhio plans to form a steering committee with other state agencies to oversee OCHIN’s efforts.
The department’s previous school-based telehealth project pilots with the Ohio School District of Switzerland in Monroe County in 2020 and multiple school districts in the Muskingum Valley Education Service Center in 2021 already provides telehealth services to nearly 22,000 students.
Through the programs, students have access to mentors in real time, sometimes for 60 seconds, BroadbandOhio said.
Those partnerships also include InnovateOhio, the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Department of Addiction and Mental Health Services, the Ohio Department of Health, and the Appalachian Children’s Coalition.
“Our children are our greatest asset and we owe it to each and every child to provide the highest quality, appropriate care possible,” said Lydia Mihalik, Director of the Ohio Department of Health. – no matter where they live or go to school.” Develop.
“This program will help us do that.”
OCHIN, a not-for-profit national provider network founded in 2000, systematically supports access to care for underserved communities at nearly 2,000 healthcare sites nationwide.
Jennifer Stoll, OCHIN’s executive vice president of foreign affairs, said Ohio’s efforts to provide telehealth for children and young people will be a model for states across the country.
TREND TO BIGGER WOMAN
Broadband access and telehealth go hand in hand.
According to Craig Settles, a broadband community – networks owned by government organizations, local utility cooperatives, wireless internet service providers and other local ISPs, and partnerships Public-private partnerships are often initiated by local governments – holding the financial and quality of life benefits. advocate and expert in community broadband and telehealth.
“There is a lot of work needed and analysis of community needs, as well as many community stakeholder plans to make these visions a reality,” he wrote as a contributor. give Healthcare IT News.
In November, he called on community coalitions involved in the public health and healthcare sector to take advantage of $14 billion in federal funding through the Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program. Federal Communications to increase access to telehealth by increasing broadband access.
ON PROFILE
“This marks another major milestone in our efforts to expand broadband connectivity to more communities, in the most meaningful ways possible,” Governor Jon Husted said in a statement. dad.
“Simply put – this will remove some of the major barriers to access and give many of our students a direct line to the support they need, when they need it.”
Andrea Fox is the senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
