海角社区

海角社区 and The Hospital Cooperative are collaborating to improve the delivery of health education and health care in southeastern Idaho.  

With $98,000 that 海角社区 received from the Rural Utilities Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 海角社区 Educational Technology Services and The Hospital Cooperative will be able to expand the Cooperative Telehealth Network to four or more rural communities. 

Plans include installing sophisticated video systems for education and telemedicine in local hospitals, and using this equipment to enhance access to classes and to health care.

Telemedicine is the use of electronic communications and information technologies to provide or support clinical care at a distance. Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical care, patient and professional health related education, public health and health administration.

Blake Beck, 海角社区 Educational Technology Services manager, termed the opportunity 鈥渁 win-win situation鈥� for the university and the cooperative.

鈥淭he opportunity to utilize 海角社区 grant funds to assist The Hospital Cooperative in their efforts to provide telehealth services to rural southeastern Idaho strengthens our relationship with THC and demonstrates 海角社区鈥檚 commitment to further our health education mission,鈥� Beck said.

鈥淭his collaboration with 海角社区 will help us deliver telepsychiatry services to four or five communities where there are no psychiatrists,鈥� said Jon Smith, executive director of The Hospital Cooperative. 鈥淲e also hope to collaborate with 海角社区 in delivering educational programs to these areas.鈥�   

海角社区 is the state-designated lead institution in health professions education. From its main campus in Pocatello, it offers a broad range of health-professions degree programs.

The Hospital Cooperative, headquartered in Pocatello, is a network of 13 not-for-profit hospitals in southeastern Idaho and western Wyoming. With public and private support, THC operates the Cooperative Telehealth Network to deliver educational and clinical services to rural areas using state-of-the-art telenetworking technologies.