2004 - 2005 Grantee Directory - Ohio

Case Western Reserve University
Susan Wentz, MD, MS
10900 Euclid Ave.
Cleveland, Ohio 44106-4956
Ph: 216-368-5493 Fax: 216-368-0263
Project: http://www.netwellness.org
Email: sww2@cwru.edu
Organization: http://www.cwru.edu

Network Partners: Ohio State University University of Cincinnati

Project Purpose: Develop a website that incorporates easy to understand information on hundreds of health topics, current health news, and an Ask an Expert feature where users can get individual responses on hundreds of health topics from volunteer faculty experts at the three universities. Over 250 academic medical and research professionals donate their time by writing articles on many of the health topics and through the site's Ask an Expert feature.

Outcomes Expected: The intended outcomes are increased knowledge of the healthcare consumer, improved physician/patient communication and ultimately reduced healthcare costs. User surveys, continuous feedback from a form available on every NetWellness page, continuous analysis of use and other site data are used to evaluate its effectiveness. Additionally, through collaboration with the Ohio public and school library networks, virtual focus groups are occasionally formed to advise NetWellness on specific issues. Service Area: Nationwide

Services Provided: NetWellness has been in operation since 1994, providing health information via the web. This includes access to a portfolio of health resources such as encyclopedia, directories, manuals, reviewed weblinks, and original content on health topics written by university health sciences faculty. A key component is our Ask an Expert feature through which users can get individual responses on hundreds of diseases, conditions, and wellness topics from over 250 volunteer faculty experts at the three universities.

Equipment: Standard web and database servers.

Transmission: Internet.

Greene Memorial Hospital
Ellie Wenzke
1141 North Monroe Dr.
Xenia, OH 45385
Ph: 937-376-8011 Fax: 937-376-7397
http://www.greene-memorial.org Email: ewenzke@med-health-system.org

Network Partners: The project is contained within the closed network at Greene Memorial Hospital and consists of the Pharmacy, MIS and Nursing departments.

Project Purpose: The Greene Memorial Hospital Automated Inpatient Medication Management System provides increased patient safety for inpatient and outpatient hospital services. The automated medication dispensing cabinets provide secure storage and accurate dispensing and tracking of decentralized medications. The system allows for interface with patient profiles to help assure medications are appropriate.

Outcomes Expected: Increased and enhanced outcomes expected will include: · Provide accuracy for an average of 560 patient doses per week. · Allow dispensing of medications in a controlled fashion to better track medication usage, especially narcotics. · Free pharmacists from labor-intensive distributive functions allowing them to provide more clinically oriented services.

Service Area: Greene County located in southwest Ohio.

Services Provided: Greene Memorial Hospital's services include: emergency, diagnostic, rehabilitative, surgical services, chemical dependency, mental health, oncology, sports medicine, and occupational health services.

Equipment: Automated Medication Dispensing Units integrated with patient data systems.

Transmission: T1 transmission connection. OHIO NEOHON Telehealth Project Northeast Ohio Health Outreach Network.

Network Partners: Rural hospitals and affiliated outpatient sites, local employer groups and public health agencies

Project Purpose: The project will include several activities. The first activity will develop videoconferencing capabilities to effectively enable the NEOHON facilities to conduct physician education activities, physician consultations, community education sessions, and administrative meetings. The second activity will work with Emergency Departments to enable remote consultation in cardiology and neurology. The project will utilize an advanced radiology/PACS system to support such consultations. The third activity will expand mobile health services presently delivered via a specially equipped bus. The expanded services would include delivering prenatal services to remote communities, particularly the Amish population. The bus will also be used to deliver occupational health services in conjunction with an existing occupational health program.

Outcomes Expected: Project seeks to improve patient wellness and health outcome objectives.

Service Area: 4 counties in northeastern Ohio.

Services Provided: Obstetrics, occupational health, cardiology, neurology, teleradiology, physician education, community education, administrative conferencing.

Equipment: Standard videoconferencing, videophones and cameras suitable for remote and mobile consultations, potentially a PACS system for remote image sharing and storage.

Transmission: T1. OHIO Patient Safety and Medication Error Reduction Northeast Ohio Health Outreach Network

Network Partners: NEOHON hospitals (Pomerene Hospital, Dunlap Memorial Hospital, Alliance Community Hospital, Union Hospital).

Project Purpose: As a result of the Institute of Medicine's 1999 report on medical errors and the Leapfrog Group's development of patient safety initiatives, NEOHON evaluated the costs and benefits of implementing specific safe and effective processes for the ordering, dispensing, and administering of patient medications. The goal of the project is to automate error prone processes and increase community and medical community awareness of medical errors and their role in prevention. The project will achieve this goal by capitalizing on the infrastructure put in place from the existing NEOHON Telehealth Project. Activities include automating the drug distribution process, installing point of care devices to decrease the potential for medication administration errors, and increasing the public's and the medical community's awareness of medication errors and their respective roles in prevention. The project will also provide health care professionals access to electronic drug databases and journal articles.

Outcomes Expected: Project seeks to improve patient safety and reduce medical errors.

Service Area: Four, independent not-for-profit hospitals located in four counties in northeast Ohio have formed the Northeast Ohio Outreach Network (NEOHON). Member hospitals range from 52 beds, 200 employees to 169 beds, 840 employees.

Services Provided: The purpose of the network is to provide preventive health and medical services, and to provide public awareness of preventive health issues.

Equipment: Pyxis medication administration and inventory control equipment.

Transmission: T1 and web-based.

Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine
Thomas C. Atwood, M.S., M.A.
4209 State Route 44
Rootstown, Ohio 44272
Ph: 330-325-6611 Fax: 330-325-0522
http://www.neoucom.edu Email: tcatwood@neoucom.edu

Network Partners: The University of Akron, Kent State University, Youngstown State University, Cleveland State University, 8 Major Teaching Hospitals located in Akron, Canton and Youngstown, 3 Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), 12 Clinics for Underserved Populations, 3 Veterans Administration Clinics.

Project Purpose: Provide medical education to patients, physicians, residents, undergraduate medical education students and other health professionals in northeastern Ohio through a variety of methods. Improve the quality of medical education by using technology to develop and deliver materials over the Internet. Provide access to NEOUCOM's Read Distance Education Center and associated training materials. Improve the quality and availability of undergraduate and continuing medical education in the region.

Outcomes Expected: Enhanced communications throughout the region for live (synchronous) presentations and archived (asynchronous) materials. New content is being developed for a regional audience of the underserved populace, veterans, migrant workers, and healthcare professionals and an ever-expanding circle of participants including students, physicians, psychologists, nurses, counselors, social workers, clergy, nursing home administrators, and safety officers. MENTOR will enhance the services already provided and increase public health awareness.

Service Area: 22 counties in northeastern Ohio.

Services Provided: H.323 (IP-Sept 2003) and H.320 (ISDN-Jan 2004) video conferencing. Instructional materials delivered via the Internet using WebCT course management system, custom applications, CDROM, DVD and streaming video.

Equipment: Two academic servers provide online access to educational materials and applications. Tandberg 6000 and Tandberg 2500 systems provide video conferencing capabilities. DVD recorders, cameras, scanners, printers, etc. used to develop content.

Transmission: Web-based, T1 (H.323) and ISDN (H.320) to Consortium Universities and Major Teaching Hospitals. Future plans include Internet 2 capability.

Southern Consortium for Children
Steven C. Trout
507 Richland Avenue, Suite 107
Athens, Ohio 45701-0956
Ph: 740-593-8293 Fax: 740-592-4170
http://www.scchildren.com Email: strout@frognet.net

Network Partners: Ohio University's College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM) - Athens, OH Shawnee Mental Health Center - West Union (Adams), Coal Grove* (Lawrence), and Portsmouth (Scioto), OH (* 2 Locations) Tri-County Mental Health and Counseling Services, Inc. - Athens (Athens), Logan (Hocking), and McArthur (Vinton), OH Washington County Community Mental Health Services - Marietta (Washington), OH Woodland Centers, Inc. - Gallipolis (Gallia), Jackson (Jackson), and Pomeroy (Meigs), OH

Project Purpose: This project will create a telepsychiatric and distance learning network by linking eight new sites to an existing four-site network. A telepsychiatric program for children will be created in year one and expanded to serve adults in years two and three and will add four advance practice nurses (APNs) to an existing psychiatric practice. Distance learning programs will be expanded and more readily accessed throughout the ten-county region.

Outcomes Expected: Project outcomes include: connecting eight new satellite sites to an existing four site videoconferencing network, Internet accessibility for all sites will be achieved using one ISP, children and adults will use videoconferencing technology for routine med/somatic visits, four APNs will be hired to expand the psychiatric practice regionally, the adult psychiatric caseload will double by grants end, greater efficiency in scheduling clients will reduce "no show" rates by 15% by grants end, and greater access for distance learning will be achieved.

Service Area: Counties include Athens, Hocking, Vinton, Gallia, Jackson, Meigs, Adams, Lawrence, and Scioto. Three counties are designated primary health HPSAs, six counties p-HPSA, and Gallia County is not designated. Eight counties are designated mental health HPSAs (Lawrence and Washington are excluded), six of the counties are designated MUAs, with three counties designated partial MUAs.

Services Provided: The major focus of service provision will focus on telepsychiatry for children in year one and then move onto the adult population in years two and three. The second service priority has to do with expanded distance learning capacity for regional behavioral health care providers.

Equipment: At each site: Polycom VSX 7000, Router - Cisco 1760, Switch - Cisco 2950, PC At OU-COM (Athens): Main Router - Cisco 3745.

Transmission: T1 lines to all sites except Tri-County Mental Health and Counseling Services, Inc., in Athens which utilizes line-of-sight microwave transmission.