Clarion University of Pennsylvania
330 Main Street
Clarion, PA 16214
www.clarion.edu/hsec

Nancyann C. Falvo, PhD
Ph: 814-227-1901
Fax: 814-227-2036
Email: nfalvo1@clarion.edu

Network Partners: Clarion University of PA, Slippery Rock University of PA, Edinboro University of PA Warren-Forest County Higher Education Council and Warren General Hospital.

Project Purpose: The purpose of this project is to address the health care needs of northwestern Pennsylvanians by ensuring increased access to high-quality primary care for both rural and under-served populations of this region. The goal of this project is to expand the delivery area of the current Clarion / Edinboro / Slippery Rock Universities’ MSN-FNP program to provide educational access for registered nurses of northwestern Pennsylvania.

Outcomes Expected: Develop a Community Health Care Improvement Advisory Committee including residents of rural communities serviced by the Warren-Forest Higher Ed. Council. Establish a scholarship incentive program for students enrolling in the MSN-FNP program. Extend the delivery area of the program to the northwest area of the state, using distance education modalities, beginning in August of 2002.

Service Area: Students enrolled in this program at the Warren-Forest site are from various northwestern Pennsylvania counties and from New York State. It is anticipated that all 6 students in the program will practice in the Warren-Forest area after graduation.

Services Provided: Educational – students enrolled in the MSN-FNP program been enrolled in 2 course (6 credits) per semester since August of 2002. A clinical instructor is present with the students during the clinical courses.

Equipment: Polycom and Pictur-tel Venue videoconferencing equipment primary sites, PCs for Blackboard instruction.

Transmission: ISDN 128 – 384KB/s.

Community Nurses, Inc.
757 Johnsonburg Road, Suite 200 Devleopment
Saint Marys, Pennsylvania 15857
www.communitynurses.org

Brenda Porter, RN, Assistant Vice President of Business
Ph: (814) 781-1415
Fax: (814) 781-6987
Email: bporter@communitynurses.org

Network Partners: Not Applicable

Project Purpose: The telehealth project is utilizing state-of-the-art home equipment to monitor patients in between personal nursing visits in the rural region of North Central Pennsylvania. The video monitor allows for interaction between the nurse and the patient while the nurse is compiling the patient’s vital statistics (i.e. blood pressure, blood sugars, weights, heart and lung sounds, pulse ox etc.). The non-video monitor allows the nurse to monitor these same statistics on a daily basis and identify trends that can be
identified and corrected before an emergency room visit is needed. This project will provide quality service to the patients while addressing the nursing shortage.

Outcomes Expected: The project is expected to improve patient care and outcomes. By monitoring patients on a regular basis health conditions can be stabilized quickly resulting in fewer hospital ER visits and admissions. Patients with congestive heart failure, chronic pulmonary disease, diabetes and wound care have been targeted to date. However, the medical uses of the equipment are endless.

Service Area: The Community Nurses service Elk, Cameron, and McKean counties in North Central Pennsylvania. The total population of the area is 87,000.

Services Provided: Services provided include the monitoring of home health patients suffering from chronic diseases as mentioned above via video and non-video monitors.

Equipment: The Community Nurses are presently utilizing American TeleCare home health equipment.

Transmission: The home telehealth program runs on an analog phone line.

Geisinger Clinic
100 N Academy Avenue
Danville, PA 17822-1335
www.geisinger.org

Linda Famiglio, MD/Mary Ann Blosky, MSRN, MHA
Mary Ann Blosky, MSRN, MHA
Ph: 570-214-9391
Fax: 570-214-9451
Email: MBLOSKY@geisinger.edu

Network Partners: Geisinger Medical Centers, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital (Wellsboro, PA), Moses Taylor Hospital (Scranton, PA), Sunbury Community Hospital (Sunbury, PA), Dubois Regional Medical Center (Dubois, PA), Geisinger Clinic (Danville and Wilkes Barre, PA), Shamokin Community Hospital (Shamokin, PA), VA Medical Center (Wilkes Barre, PA), Susquehanna Health System (Williamsport, PA), Evangelical Hospital (Lewisburg, PA), Geisinger Health South (Danville, PA), Robert Packer Hospital (Sayre, PA), Center City Medical Complex (Hazelton, PA), Family Practice Center
(Mifflinburg, PA), Geisinger Community Practice (Danville, PA), and Guthrie Clinic (Sayre, PA).

Project Purpose: Create a regional partnership where, by targeted distance education of consumers and providers and by use of other telehealth methods, information is shared and used by all stakeholders to motivate and monitor change in stroke outcomes in rural Pennsylvania. This is needed to ultimately decrease response time from the onset of stroke, address gaps in training to manage stroke victims, and develop regional based triage protocols to optimize appropriate use of local hospitals, regional centers of care and clinical expertise.

Outcomes Expected: Assess needs to educate consumers and providers, to initiate work relevant to developing a rational rural network of care, and to initiate work for long-term evaluation of these efforts. This will be done through knowledge surveys, educational program development (including using distance education), creation of a blueprint for a stroke registry, and hospital partnerships. These partners will assist in developing a model plan for stroke care in this region.

Service Area: Care is provided to patients who reside in predominantly rural areas of Pennsylvania. 24 of Geisinger’s 31 county areas are officially designated as Medically Underserved Areas; the Office of Rural Health
officially designated 15 of these as rural.

Services Provided: Needs assessments, resource analysis, model plan for rural stroke care, and educational programs.

Equipment: Five computer workstations, Software (MapInfo, MS Project, Reference Manager), one network printer, 2 PDAs.

Transmission: Phone, fax, computers (including Internet).

Schuylkill Alliance for Health Care Access
1 South Second Street
Pottsville, Pennsylvania 17901
www.schuylkillhca.org

Judith A. Schweich
Ph: 570-628-5515
Fax: 570-628-3887
Email: jschweich@schuylkillhca.org

Network Partners: Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center Pottsville Hospital Center, Pottsville, PA Ashland Regional Medical Center, Ashland, PA St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital, Coaldale, PA

Project Purpose: To identify and address unmet health needs of the uninsured population of Schuylkill County, PA and to provide access to primary medical and dental services. Major goals and objectives of the project will impact the quality of life of the uninsured and the community by integrating the rural health safety net through an Information Technology infrastructure.

Outcomes expected: A target population of 3,000 to be enrolled and having access to healthcare services by end of the fourth quarter. Increase in efficiency, effectiveness, coordination and quality of care to enrolled population—this will be determined by the IReach program that will enroll and track clients and the
traffic of the system.

Service Area: Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

Services Provided: There will be a linkage established between clients in need of medical and health care assistance and health care providers in Schuylkill County. Linkages to public assistance programs will be made for those who qualify. Affordable health care will be provided for those who do not qualify for public assistance. Completion of the linkage process will be by the end of the 4th quarter of the grant.

Equipment: Personal computers, server, back-up server and specific software developed for the project.

Transmission: Services will be available through telephone and via the Internet. A network will be available for authorized participants and providers of the project to access information on clients. All information and technology will be HIPAA compliant and served by a safety net.

Hospice of Metropolitan
202 East Tenth Street
Erie, PA 17901
www.hospiceerie.org

Erie Karen Moski
Ph: 814-456-6689
Fax: 814-456-8219
Email: kmoski@hospiceerie.org

Network Partners: None.

Project Purpose: Improve delivery of hospice service through applications of telecommunications technology, especially for the frail elderly population.

Outcomes expected: 1. Improve service delivery through Telehealth, five patients/families each month; observation and assessment. 2. Improve participation and satisfaction of frail elderly, increase opportunity for POG and family real time updates; quality review and evaluation by participation.
3. Increase patient/family satisfaction and nurse satisfaction, improve response time to changes; feedback survey.

Service Area: Erie City and Erie County, PA.

Services Provided: Hospice organization of 25 years, recently licensed and certified as Medicare provider. Adding Telehealth as demonstration to improve quality and service to underserved and at risk populations.

Equipment: 5 laptops and 1 desktop equipped for live, two-way transmission.

Transmission: Primarily Internet hookup from residential (varies) to office; limited office to office for professional consultation.

Jewish Healthcare Foundation
650 Smithfield Street, Suite 2400
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
www.phri.org

Margaret Priselac
Tania Lyon, PhD
Ph: 412-586-6715
Fax: 412-586-6701
Email: mpriselac@phri.org

Network Partners: Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative; Western PA Health Disparities Collaborative (FQHCs)- Primary Care Health Service, Inc., East Liberty Family Health Center, Sto-Rox Family Health Center, UPMC Matilda Theiss, Cornerstone Care Health Center, Primary Health-Net, Centerville Clinics, Community Health Net of Erie.

Project Purpose: The primary purpose of the Collaborative is to improve patient care outcomes beginning with diabetics using the PPC System to implement the Chronic Care Model. The secondary purpose of the Collaborative is to develop cost-effective, dissemination tactics to support the organizational
transformation necessary to implement these changes in Western Pennsylvania and beyond. This project will develop a community of learning supported by multiple technologies called the Pittsburgh Regional Learning Network.

Outcomes expected: 1) Lower average HbA1c; 2) Patients with 2 HbA1c screenings in last year (at least 3 months apart); 3) Documentation of self-management goal-setting; 4) Cardiac risk reduction; ACE inhibitors or ARB
medication; 5) Patients with BP 130/80; 6) Patients with LDL <100; 7) Dilated eye exam in past year: 8) Comprehensive foot exam in past year; 9) Microalbuminuria screening in past year; and 10) Depression screening in past year.

Service Area: The Western PA Health Disparities Collaborative consists of eight FQHCs serving low-income and minority populations. These eight centers manage a total of 50 sites delivering primary health care in 9 counties in Western PA. Four of the health centers serve a predominantly urban population;
the others serve predominantly rural patients.

Services Provided: The initial clinical focus of the Western Pennsylvania Health Disparities Collaborative (HDC) is diabetes. Each of the health centers has determined their target population for the project. These subsets of diabetic patients will be the focus of early application of the care model. The population of focus ranges from between 100-200 diabetic patients per health center. Over time, the approach will be applied to broader populations and other chronic medical conditions.

Equipment: Not Applicable.

Transmission: Requisite knowledge of interventions and methodology are communicated through a formal educational curriculum, on-site coaching by trained consultants, Web-based learning networks, formal peer-to-peer networks, PRHI Collaborative Platform including regional forums.

Magee Rehabilitation Hospital
Spinal Cord Injury Research
Six Franklin Plaza
www.mageerehab.org

Mary Schmidt
Ronald W. Siggs
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Ph: 215-587-3216
Fax: 215-568-3736
Email: rsiggs@mageerehab.org

Network Partners: Vtree Corporation (a Philadelphia area health technology company).

Project Purpose: This telehealth program is a unique rehabilitation application that uses simulation and virtual reality technology to improve the quality of life for individuals with spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, strokes, and other illnesses. Magee Rehabilitation Hospital and Vtree will develop a rehabilitation
program that permits individuals with severe physical limitations to overcome their mobility challenges without having to leave a safe environment. Software development will allow individuals utilizing wheelchair ambulation to learn and practice mobility skills for an outdoor/community based environment in a simulated manner. This will include streets, vehicular traffic, sidewalks, people, etc., which require wheelchair maneuvering for safe and efficient community access.

Outcomes Expected: Individuals with physical disabilities will have improved physical function and independence in the community environment. Following training with the use of the Virtual Reality technology, performance in a “real” environment will be tested and reinforced to enhance the individual’s personal
acceptance and comfort with safe outdoor mobility. Assessments, such as the “CHART” (Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique), or the “SCIM” (Spinal Cord Independence Measure), can be used to document increased level of social participation and community integration, if
administered pre and post training with the Virtual Reality “Streetscape” program.

Service Area: Counties primarily served are contiguous in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, although some individuals will participate in this program will reside outside of these counties. Pennsylvania counties include:
Philadelphia, Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery, and Chester. New Jersey counties include: Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester.

Services Provided: Magee Rehabilitation Hospital telehealth is providing services in physical rehabilitation and virtual reality training, enabling patients to actively participate in their recovery.

Equipment: 1 computer, 1 software simulation system, 1 big screen television, and multiple wheelchairs.

Transmission: Not Applicable.

Mercy Health Partners
746 Jefferson Avenue
Scranton, PA 18510-1624
www.mercyhealthpartners.com

John T. Howells-CIO
Ph: 570-348-7778
Fax: 570-348-7639
Email: jhowells@health-partners.org

Network Partners: All Mercy affiliated physicians and clinics.

Project Purpose: To automate the nursing assessment and documentation process. This information will populate the longitudinal, electronic patient record supplementing all patient results and reports already available.
This information is available to all physicians and clinicians electronically in the hospitals, physician offices, and/or homes.

Outcomes Expected: Quantifiable increase (10%-15%) in number of electronic accesses to patient record, reduction in nursing clerical time—30 minutes per day per nurse, reduction in paperwork on chart with critical patient information available electronically in standardized, legible format.

Service Area: Lackawanna and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania.

Services Provided: Electronic nursing documentation.

Equipment: Cisco Aironet wireless network infrastructure with NAW are mobile, wireless PC carts utilized at bedside.

Transmission: Hospital high-speed network and Internet.

Information Services Division
1400 Locust Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
www.mercylink.org

Linda Hogan, PhD
Ph: 412-232-7710
Fax: 412-232-8422
Email: Lhogan@pmhs.org

Network Partners: Not Applicable.

Project Purpose:

• Improve physician access to patient-level clinical result information in the hospital setting.
• Improve nursing access to patient-level clinical documentation in the hospital setting.
• Improve accuracy of patient care documentation in the hospital setting.
• Improve utilization of existing clinical workstations.

Outcomes Expected: Provide physicians with ready access to patient level clinical results at any time and basically anywhere in the hospital. Enable nurses and other non-physician caregivers to directly record patient care
documentation at the point of care, halving the time required for this task while improving accuracy and availability. Expand coverage to all clinical areas and equip a significant portion of clinicians with mobile computing devices, matched to their tasks and provide the requisite knowledge, skills, and
abilities to optimize utilization of mobile technology.

Service Area: Greater Pittsburgh area and surrounding counties.

Services Provided: Mercy is an independent, academic medical center offering a broad range of medical, surgical, and home health services, which includes these centers of excellence: Mercy Heart Institute; Mercy Neuroscience Institute; Mercy Trauma and Burn Centers; Mercy Rehabilitation Center; Mercy
Women’s Health; Mercy Children’s Medical Center; Mercy Diabetes Program; Mercy Cancer Institute; and Mercy Orthopedic Services.

Equipment: Specific handheld devices have not been selected because of constant and significant changes in the design and availability of devices introduced into the marketplace. Selection is expected to be made
during the second quarter of 2006.

Transmission: All of the above planned hardware devices will be connected to our software information systems using wireless (IEEE 802.11b,g standard), untethered in any fashion, communication protocols as the network connection.

Millcreek Community Hospital
5515 Peach Street
Erie, PA 16509 ax:
www.millcreekcommunityhospital.com

Tim Zurn, RPh
Ph: 814-868-8144
Fax: 814-868-8199
Email: tzurn@lecom.edu

Network Partners: The project is contained within the closed network at Millcreek Community Hospital and will encompass patient and non-patient care areas. The project will subsequently extend to 13 medical practice sites in Erie County.

Project Purpose: Improve quality of health care provided to all patients of the health system, including the hospital and the satellite medical practice sites, via upgrade and expansion of the informatics system.

Outcomes Expected:

• Create an infrastructure to support an informatics network between all patient care areas.
• Enhance patient safety by decreasing medication errors and adverse drug events.
• Provide remote access to physicians and other authorized users.
• Assure privacy of patient information.

Service Area: Millcreek Community Hospital is a 135-bed, acute care facility located in Erie County (Erie, PA) and has a population of approximately 281,000. Millcreek Community Hospital has 13 affiliated medical
offices/clinics located throughout Erie County.

Services Provided: Millcreek Community Hospital offers a full range of services including emergency care, diagnostic, surgical services, chemical dependency, adult and pediatric behavioral health, obstetric/gynecology, rehabilitative, and intensive care.

Equipment: Seven Dell departmental file servers, 1 EMR server, 4 Internet Gateway servers, 10 background job servers, 1 Forward Advantage Fax Solution, 2 Citrix Meta Frame Servers for remote access, 8 Dell Storage Arrays, 1 Bridgehead Centralized Backup Solution, 1 Modular UPS, and 1 Core Data Center Network Switch.

Transmission: TCP/IP local and Web-based remote access.

Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry, & Tourism
P.O. Box 128
Oil City, PA 16301-0128

Randy P. Seitz
Deb Lutz
Ph: 814-677-3152 Ext. 115
Fax: 814-677-5206
dlutz@oilregion.org

Network Partners: Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Dubois Business College, University of Pittsburgh/Titusville, Venango Technology Center, Clarion/Venango Educational Resources Alliance

Project Purpose: The purpose of this project is to address the educational/training needs of three distinct segments within the healthcare industry; Respiratory Therapy, Clinical Medical Assistant Program and Pre-
Nursing Distance Learning Opportunities. This will be accomplished through the development of new comprehensive programs of study in those three distinct areas. These programs will emphasize a distance-learning format to supplement and enhance existing regional programs.

Outcomes Expected: Provide high-quality training programs to meet the needs of the vital health care industry, which will provide careers in health services offering career mobility, flexibility and security. The outcome will be to increase retention rates of those who do enroll by employing learner-centered instructionalstrategies.

Service Area: Initially, this project is targeted to serve a multi-county region in northwest Pennsylvania. encompassing Venango, Warren, Forest, Clarion and Bradford counties primarily, with the potential of drawing residents from every county in northwest Pennsylvania.

Services Provided: Core services provided within the scope of the project include a focus on education for health care career opportunities. This education will primarily be provided via distance learning opportunities.

Equipment: Laptop computers, video conferencing equipment, 12 ITV classrooms w/Pictur-tel and Polycom equipment, ISDN and IP technology PCs for Blackboard instruction.

Transmission: ISDN 128K, ATM 512K and above IP 712K and above, DSL, Broadband Cable Modem & Wireless.

Pennsylvania College of Optometry
8360 Old York Road
Elkins Park, PA 19027
www.pco.edu

Felix M. Barker, OD, MS
Ph: 215-780-1427
Fax: 215-780-1325
Email: Felix@PCO.edu

Network Partners: Not Applicable.

Project Purpose: The Pennsylvania College of Optometry operates a large urban eye care system involving a large central clinic (The Eye Institute) and two outlying clinics (Strawberry Mansion and Mt. Airey) located in underserved areas. We use store and forward technology and a compatible image mangagement and communications software (Image Consultant) to establish and maintain a database and to communicate regarding cases and educational issues between sites.

Outcomes Expected: We track telemedicine interactions between sites.

Service Area: This is an urban telehealth program. We do not serve HPSAs or MUAs currently.

Services Provided: This program started in 2002 and provides primary eye care and specialty eye care via telehealth and other forms of outreach.

Equipment: We use biomicroscope cameras and platform fundus cameras along with an image capture and archival system with internet encrypted transmission between sites.

Transmission: We use Internet protocols that are encrypted. We have a T-1 line between our main clinic and our academic campus.

Pennsylvania Homecare Association
Penn State University
20 Erford Road, Suite 115 Vicki M. Hoak
Lemoyne, PA 17043
www.pahomecare.org

Kathryn Dansky, PhD, RN,
Ph: 717-975-9448, Ext. 28
Fax: 717-975-9456
Email : vhoak@pahomecare.org

Network Partners: Pennsylvania State University and 36 homecare agencies located throughout Pennsylvania (29 of which are providing telehomecare services).

Project Purpose: To combine three years of data collection on workforce issues and organizational support for telehealth. In addition, financial information will be collected from the agencies participating in the study to develop a break-even analysis for telehealth. This break-even analysis can be easily replicated for any home health agency to evaluate the financial impact that telehealth can have on its bottom line.

Outcomes Expected: Telehealth is a viable tool for managing an increase in patient census. It is possible to increase efficiencies at an agency by increasing revenues, reducing costs, or a combination of both approaches to cover the costs of telehealth and, at a minimum, break-even.

Service Area: Of the 36 participating agencies, 29 are providing telehomecare services in 50 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

Services Provided: Remote patient monitoring and video-home visits.

Equipment: Agencies are using home telemonitors that transmit vital signs over POTS and/or video telephone devices that also transmit over POTS. Equipment varies by agency. There are a total of approximately 800 units statewide in this study.

Transmission: Information transmits from the homes over POTS to a central station at the home health agency.

Penn State Cancer Institute Andrea Lazarus, PhD
500 University Drive H069
Hershey, PA 17033
www.hmc.psu.edu/cancer/

Ph: 717-531-5640
Fax 717-531-5103
Email: alazarus@psu.edu

Network Partners: Hershey Medical Center (HMC), Mount Nittany Medical Center (MTMC), Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH).

Project Purpose: The goal of this project is to establish a digital informatics and communications system, which will provide a virtual work environment in offering patient services across central and northeastern Pennsylvania. The advantages of such a system include the ability to bring continuing education and training to isolated rural areas and the ability for immediate interpretation of medical information and laboratory and radiology test results. The system will also allow patients to get cancer care from their local physicians while having increased access to clinical trials. Through this system, unnecessary
travel to tertiary care facilities can be avoided.

Outcomes Expected: The ultimate indicator of achieving these goals will be submitting a successful application to achieve NCI-designation as a comprehensive cancer center. Since submission of such a proposal is still 3-4
years away, we will rely on achieving unity in conducting clinical trials as a short-term goal. We have already started the process of establishing a common tumor bank with the three clinical partners (HMC, MNMC, and LVHS), and have been conducting cooperative group trials at all sites through our
clinical trials network. Within the next year we hope to have a plan in place for a central IRB and a common data safety and monitoring plan for oversight of clinical trials. With the installation of the new videoconferencing equipment, we hope to make more of the educational (both professional and public) offerings available at the HMC more accessible to the MNMC and LVHS as well.

Service Area: The primary service area is a 27-county region in Central Pennsylvania serving a mostly rural population.

Services Provided: Clinical telemedicine, public education and outreach, professional education (including CME), clinical trials access.

Equipment: Tandberg dual monitor Codecs in multiple sites at the three partnering institutions; desktop polycom units; SM fiber transceivers; high-resolution video/data projectors; videoconference cameras.

Transmission: Transmission is achieved using the Internet and videoconferencing areas across T1/T3 links between partnering institutions.

Penn State University College of Medicine
500 University Drive H175
Hershey, PA 17033
www.hmc.psu.edu

Jay Moskowitz, PhD
Kathryn J. Kaylor, MPA, CRA
Ph: 717-531-8495
Fax 717-531-5352
Email: kkaylor@psu.edu

Network Partners: 10 University Physician Groups across Central Pennsylvania in Centre, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and Luzerne counties.

Project Purpose: The accelerating pace of discoveries in basic sciences is outstripping the scientific community’s capacity to turn laboratory advances into applications that benefit patients. We intend to recruit physician-scientists who can translate basic science discoveries into new prevention and treatment
strategies. In addition to fostering a multidisciplinary approach to care, we will also develop essential animal models of human disease and create new clinical research biostatistical tools, outcome measures, and clinical end points to enhance the quality of clinical trials. Finally, we will establish
regional and national resources to offer professional guidance in study design, implementation, and data analysis.

Outcomes Expected: We expect to train and facilitate the research of two physician-scientists each year for the next three years. This will result in an increase in basic science, translational, interdisciplinary publications. We
will also create a program to develop animal models of human disease within the Department of Comparative Medicine. The physician-scientist program will facilitate the enhancement of the K-30 program awarding certificates/masters degrees to physician-scientists. Finally, we will establish a primary care clinical trials network to provide opportunities for new treatments and prevention
modalities to the citizens of Central Pennsylvania.

Service Area: The project will impact approximately 3,000,000 residents in Central Pennsylvania spanning 10 counties. Much of this region is in Appalachia, which has been designated as a medically underserved
area.

Services Provided: The physician-scientist program will provide the special mechanism to assist in improved medical care and research into new treatments. We will establish a primary care clinical trials network to provide
opportunities for these research and patient care opportunities along with prevention education for the service area.

Equipment: Videoconferencing between clinical network sites will use Tandberg Coded units, desktop Polycom units, SM fiber transceivers, high-resolution video data projectors, and videoconference cameras.

Transmission: Transmission will be achieved using the Internet and videoconferencing.

Pinnacle Health System
409 South Second Street
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8700
www.pinnaclehealth.org

Carol Connor
Christopher P. Markley, Esq.
Ph: 717-231-8210
Fax 717-231-8157
Email: cmarkley@pinnaclehealth.org

Network Partners: Not Applicable.

Project Purpose: To allow physicians to enter orders online; have a Medication Administration Checking system; and to provide online access, including remote access to patient records/charts allowing for focus on patient safety and reduction of medical errors. Automation of these processes is part of the electronic health record and allows for implementation of additional telehealth programs.

Outcomes Expected: This project is expected to increase remote health record access, reduce medical errors and increase patient safety. Tracking will be accomplished through use of reports generated from the Medication
Administration Checking system, Risk Management systems, and Data Warehouse.

Service Area: Pinnacle Health System’s primary service area covers 5 counties—Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Perry, and Northern York. Dauphin County includes the City of Harrisburg, which has a significant low-income, underserved population. Also served are a number of rural areas for which Pinnacle Health System is the sole provider of health care.

Services Provided: Pinnacle Health System is comprised of four hospitals; more than a dozen family practice and urgent medical centers; two outpatient surgery centers; home health and hospice agencies; and additional health services.

Equipment: The program will utilize notebook computers; information carts with monitors and PCs; wall mounted units; and bed arm units with servers and software. Additionally, cables and switchports will accommodate wireless expansion.

Transmission: Within facilities, wireless and 1GB fiber backbone with 100MB to the computers will be utilized. Remote providers gain access through secure, encrypted Internet links.

Safe Harbor Behavioral Health
1330 West 26th Street
Erie, PA 16508
www.safeharborbh.org

David Rosswog, LPC
Julie Sorrentino Kresge
Ph: 814-451-2206
Fax 814-451-2280
E-mail: David.Rosswog@shbh.org
E-mail: Julie.Kresge@shbh.org

Network Partners: Beacon Light Behavioral Health, Bradford, PA (headquarters) and Warren, PA (telemedicine program satellite site).

Project Purpose: Telemedicine services will be provided in Warren County, where access to child psychiatric services is limited. There are two major goals of the project—to increase access to quality children’s mental health services for rural areas and to successfully provide ongoing education, evaluation, and support for telemedicine clinical services. This increased access will allow for more readily accessible and effective protocol development, scheduling, psychiatric evaluation, medication management, case review, specialist referrals, data collection and analysis, and hopefully in the future of the state of
Pennsylvania, billing.

Outcomes Expected: The project will serve approximately 2 to 6 children in Warren, PA with mental illness. Through the telemedicine project, we will track participant utilization, types of psychiatric services provided, progress, and outcomes. Patient and staff participants will complete satisfaction surveys for each telemedicine encounter. The telemedicine committee will utilize this data to monitor quality, evaluate the needs for additional support, for ongoing and additional telemedicine program funding.

Service Area: The service area is Warren County-Warren, PA with a population of just over 42,000—full county HPSAs and MUA. Just under 10% of the population lives in poverty. Beacon Light Behavioral Health provides child mental health services for the county and currently has a waiting list for services.

Services Provided: The Safe Harbor Behavioral Health Telemedicine Program initiated discussions with Beacon Light Behavioral Health and a memorandum of understanding was signed in November of 2005. Services to be provided will consist of psychiatric evaluation, medication management, case review, specialist referrals, data collection and analysis.

Equipment: The Safe Harbor Behavioral Health Telemedicine Program has purchased equipment and is in the process of setting up the connection so that the equipment may be installed and utilized with a tentative start date of April 1, 2006. The start date was delayed due to difficulty with the ISDN access and
potential state waiver issues with off-site psychiatric care.

Transmission: The Safe Harbor Behavioral Health Telemedicine Program and the spoke sites have determined that an ISDN connection is the most available and the most secure.

SUN Home Health Services (SHHS)
61 Duke Street, PO Box 232
Northumberland, PA 17857
www.sunhomehealth.com

Steven B. Richard
Ph: 570-473-7625
Fax: 570-473-3070
E-mail: sbrichard@sunhomehealth.com

Network Partners: Not Applicable.

Project Purpose: The purpose of the grant award has an emphasis in both the Distance Learning/Educational and Informatics/Informational Services areas. SUN Home Health Services will upgrade its aged wide area network to provide for more efficient operation of all programs including the electronic medical record and to meet the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule requirements. The network will be expanded/improved to allow for video conferencing and other education to be exchanged between offices and with patients and their family.

Outcomes Expected: By upgrading SHHS’ computer and operating systems, SHHS is ensuring the confidentiality of protected health information, meeting federal requirements, and avoiding penalties for non-compliance. Expanding/upgrading SHHS’ network will allow the use of video conferencing and community education while improving the performance of the existing network.

Service Area: The primary and at least initial are of coverage for SHHS includes the following counties: Snyder, Union, Northumberland, Mifflin, Juniata, Schuylkill, Perry, Lycoming, Dauphin, Columbia, Montour, Clinton, Centre, and Sullivan.

Services Provided: SUN Home Health Services, Inc., A VNA and Related Enterprises (SHHS) is a voluntary, not-forprofit organization whose mission is to provide high quality community health and social services in cooperation with other community health and social organizations.

Equipment: At offices: Windows XP desktops and laptops, Windows server, routers, switches, firewalls, hubs, telemed units, and video conferencing systems.

Transmission: Full T1 Frame Relay lines/fiber/DSL/cable modem/connections between offices and T1 connection to the Internet.

Tyrone Hospital
1 Hospital Drive
Tyrone, PA 16686
www.tyronehospital.org

Stephen C. Gildea
Ph: 814-684-6399
Fax: 814-684-6395
Email: sgildea@tyronehospital.org

Network Partners: Tyrone Hospital; Tyrone Medical Associates.

Project Purpose: Through the use of Health Information Technology in the clinical setting at Tyrone Hospital, patient safety, the quality of care, and the efficiency of providing care will dramatically improve. The Tyrone Hospital Health Information Network project is an 18 moth effort to develop and implement remotely accessible healthcare informatics that will provide caregivers with automation, freeing them from inefficient methods of documenting and coordinating patient care.

Outcomes Expected: Improved quality of care and patient safety—All inpatient charts on EMR by 2007. Improved patient safety through elimination of errors due to illegible handwriting—All patient test and medication orders automated by 2007. Enhanced ability to monitor the progress of patients and check test results, improving the quality of patient care—50% of attending physicians with access to EMR by 2007.Improved patient safety and quality of care—All physicians, nurses, and other caregivers have access to EMR by 2007.

Service Area: Counties and communities served are the counties surrounding Blair County: Centre, Huntingdon and Cambria. The communities include all surrounding communities.

Services Provided: The Tyrone Hospital Information Network is newly formed to provide Patient Health Information to providers that are located within the Tyrone area. This information will be in electronic format. Services include Primary Care, Radiology, Lab, Physical Therapy, Respiratory Therapy, Pharmacy,
Emergency Medicine and Surgery.

Equipment: Physician Offices and other care providers will access Electronic Patient Records and Electronic Medical Records via a secure VPN connection. Technology includes Cisco Network equipment, Microsoft Windows Operating Systems, and software from Medical Information Technology, Inc.

Transmission: A partial T1 line exists today, with capacity up to a full T1 line. Remote offices will be connecting via either DSL or Cable Broadband where available.

University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
Nurse Anesthesia Program
336 Victoria Building
3500 Victoria St.

John M. O’Donnell, CRNA, MSN
Ph: 412-624-4860
Fax: 412-383-7227
Email: jod01@pitt.edu
Pittsburgh, PA 15261

Network Partners: Covenant Medical Center, Saginaw, Michigan
Altoona Hospital, Altoona, PA Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA
Project Purpose: This project enabled nurse anesthesia students to participate in the classes provided at the parent university while affiliating at rural and distant sites. Increase the number of students accepted into the
Nurse Anesthesia Program. Target recruits from rural areas for admission to the anesthesia program so as to increase the number of providers to that population.

Outcomes Expected: Transmission of nurse Anesthesia Program curricular offerings via distance education efforts. Increase enrollment at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing Nurse Anesthesia Program. Develop
relationships with clinical facilities serving elderly and rural populations.

Service Areas: Not applicable to this project.

Services Provided: Distance learning of key components of the anesthesia curriculum to students recruited from and affiliating in rural/distant clinical sites.

Equipment: Dell Optiplex desktop computer with NetMeeting software, Starboard EM Panel, Kodak VR20 camera, Dell Inspirion desktop computers for distant sites.

Transmission: Network connections equivalent to T1 line, ISP provider.

Wayne Memorial Hospital
601 Park Street
Honesdale, PA 18431
www.wmh.org

Thomas Hoffman/David Hoff
John Dennis
Ph: 570-251-6533
Fax: 570-253-8993

Network Partners: Wayne Memorial Hospital will have no network partners in the OAT-funded initial phase of this multiphase project.

Project Purpose: Purpose of Project-It is the premise of this proposed project that a significant aspect of patient safety that can be improved is the medication use process. The introduction of information systems automation and standardization of the medication process of ordering, transcribing, dispensing and administering drugs and other pharmaceuticals can be improved substantially. The project will include introducing automation and information systems in the following areas: inpatient units, operating rooms, and emergency services.

Outcomes Expected: The ultimate goal of the project is an improvement in patient safety. This shall be achieved through a reduction in medication errors by 50% over the previous year’s events.

Service Areas: The service area for this phase of the project is the county of Wayne in Pennsylvania, which includes 4 MUAs, 7 Geographic HPSAs, 12 Low-Income HPSAs, a countywide Mental Health HPSA and a county-wide Dental HPSA.

Services Provided: The principle activities of the project will be: 1) implementation of a Medical Reconciliation Process through the installation of a new Pharmacy Computer System; 2) implementation of medication
surveillance and automated dispensing of medication; and 3) implementation of a bar-coded patient armband program to interface with the Pharmacy System verifying medication, dosage and route.

Equipment: Siemens Pharmacy Application/Database Server (HP Alpha Server DS25); custom interfaces (Third party Lab results one way; PYXIS 2000 Demographics and ADT, charge/credit 2-way). Hospital IS (including financials and MR)-Siemens MS-4—MedSeries 4: Siemens MS4 Advanced Clinicals.

Transmission: 10/100 MB switched LAN.