South Central Telehealth Forum to be Held April 4-5

By Ben Boulden

The South Central Telehealth Forum is organized by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Center for Distance Health and the South Central Telehealth Resource Center (SCTRC), which serves Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. Experts from the region will give presentations, lead discussions and network about telehealth.

The cost is $160 per person. To register, go to sctf.learntelehealth.org/registration/. For more information, call (855) 664-3450 or email info@learntelehealth.org.

The conference will feature Curtis Lowery, M.D., chairman and professor Department of OB-GYN in the UAMS College of Medicine and director of the Center for Distance Health; Jodi Polaha, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn.; and Robert Galli, M.D., professor, medical director of TelEmergency,  emergency medicine at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss.

Pre-conference workshops include Telehealth Fundamentals and Telepresenting Skills for Clinical Professionals.

Conference sessions will be presented on clinical, program development and technical tracks. The clinical track will look at emerging technologies in telemedicine, strategies for integrating telehealth and learning from model programs; the program development track includes telehealth policy, creating a community with telehealth and sustainability; and the technical track will feature telehealth technology, building a telemedicine network and telehealth infrastructure considerations.

“We’re excited about creating this opportunity for telehealth professionals across the three-state region to share their knowledge with each other while also learning more about the ever-changing and innovating telehealth field,” said Adam Rule, SCTRC project director. “The SCTRC and UAMS want to encourage health care administrators, nurses, physicians, clinical information technology leaders and others with an interest in the field to attend.”

Several technology vendors and other businesses and organizations also will have booths and exhibitions at the conference. Continuing education credits will be offered.

The SCTRC functions primarily through a website that works in partnership with the UAMS Center for Distance Health’s Training Center. The SCTRC focuses on telehealth education and peer interactions online. It also conducts hands-on training in its training center or on site. The project is funded by the federal Health Resource Services Administration through the Telehealth Resource Center grant program and also by a Sustainable Broadband Adoption grant through Connect Arkansas and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has more than 2,800 students and 790 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.