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| Diane Mathews and Sarah Smith present at the Telehealth Summit |
The Fifth Annual South Carolina Telehealth Summit was held
in Columbia in March and members of the South Carolina AHEC System joined
colleagues and providers from across the state to further the dialogue and
implementation on telehealth initiatives.
Lowcountry AHEC Center Director Diane Mathews and Sarah
Smith, MAT, RD, LD, CDE, presented on their telehealth diabetes self-management
training series. In April of 2016, the Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence,
Lowcountry AHEC and Palmetto Care Connections began a collaboration to provide
diabetes self-management education/training via telehealth to rural areas of
South Carolina. This initiative expands
the reach of diabetes education to those in the state unable to travel to
receive the education. The series of five classes is taught by Sarah Smith, a
registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator. During the first eight
months of the classes, 82 participants were referred by physicians and
community members. In 2017, 59 referrals have been made in the first four
months. If the referrals continue at the
current rate, there should be 177 referrals for 2017. The rate of graduation
for the distance sites in Allendale and Barnwell counties is comparable to the
graduation rate of the originating site in Colleton County. While the graduation rates were slightly
lower than the first year, they continue to meet program expectations. In 2017,
52% of those attending classes have graduated (67% at originating site vs 34%
at distance sites).
South Carolina AHEC Office for Telehealth Education (OFTE)
Director Dr. Ragan DuBoose-Morris and Program Manager Stan Sulkowski presented
at a pre-conference workshop with MUSC Director of Prehospital Medicine/Medical
Director of Charleston County EMS Dr. David French entitled, Tele Simulation:
Improving Clinical Decision Making through Statewide Education, which
highlighted OFTE’s efforts with EMS simulation training. The presentation
discussed how telehealth outreach projects led by MUSC and South Carolina AHEC
connect community providers with simulation training focused on clinical decision
making processes. Using telehealth
equipment and programmable mannequins co-located within a virtual training
laboratory, local paramedics are being trained to better address airway
management cases while remaining in their home communities. Outcomes show increased confidence in
managing these cases and decreased decision response times through the
progression of the training scenarios.
Applications for this training extend to community providers and facilities
tasked with coordinating care and managing the health of rural
populations.
Additionally, Dr. DuBose-Morris presented with Pee Dee AHEC
Center Director Gail Weaver and McLeod Health Director of Telehealth Matt Reich
on Dialing into Continuing Professional Development across Borders. The presentation
focused on initiatives that South Carolina AHEC and its partners implement
using distance education and telehealth technologies to offer healthcare
professionals cutting edge training, regardless of where they live and work.
Finally, Lowcountry AHEC provided continuing education
credits for the summit. Members of the Office for Telehealth Education team
assisted with logistics and administration throughout the summit.
More information about the summit is available at http://palmettocareconnections.org/2017-annual-summit/.
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