Sparks receives federal telemedicine grant

Sparks Health System will get more than 27% of a $1.78 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Program.

According to a statement from the six members of Arkansas’ Congressional Delegation, Sparks will get $467,287 to purchase clinical workstations, video conferencing and desktop equipment that will link 10 county hospitals across Arkansas and Oklahoma. The link will seek “to improve and expand access to care for medically underserved chronic disease patients,” according to the statement.

The USDA grant program specifically targets distance learning and telemedicine projects.

“Access to quality and affordable health care is limited, particularly in our rural communities. Telemedicine is already proving to help rural Arkansans who would not otherwise be able to receive health care they need. Using technology in this capacity is a commonsense solution to accommodating Arkansans and all Americans who don’t have resources readily available to them to improve their health care and decrease costs,” U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, noted in the statement.

Dr. Margaret Tremwell, the chief quality officer at Sparks, said in September that the hospital was awarded $735,000 to expand the telemedicine service that allows health care providers in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas save critical time in diagnosing and treating strokes. (The City Wire was unable to learn late Friday if the grant funds mentioned in September are part of the USDA program or from a separate program.)

Other Arkansas institutions receiving portions of the $1.78 million:
• Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts — $500,000
Rural Development funds will be used for an expansion of an existing videoconferencing distance learning system to 20 K-12 school sites in Arkansas and Texas, with an emphasis on deaf education and other special needs.

• Baptist Health facilities in Chicot, Van Buren, Phillips, Bradley, Pulaski, Independence, and Mississippi counties — $295,357
Rural Development funds will be used to fund a critical care medical network connecting six rural medical centers and a major hospital hub site at Little Rock. The network will use patient monitoring equipment linked to clinical workstations.

• Baptist Health facilities in Arkansas, Clay, Randolph, Johnson, and Desha counties — $309,752
Rural Development funds will be used for a critical care medical network connecting six rural medical centers and a major hospital hub site at Little Rock.  The network will use patient monitoring equipment linked to clinical workstations.

• Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas — $87,294
Rural Development funds will be used to upgrade existing interactive video classrooms and create an online learning laboratory, allowing more students to gain college level courses without having to relocate. The expanded distance learning facilities will carry a special component of nursing and emergency medical technician training to address the shortage of critical health professionals in rural Southwestern Arkansas.

• Crossett Health Foundation (ACMC Family Home Health) — $121,215
Rural Development funds will be used to purchase telemonitoring home units for home health patients and accompanying laptops for clinical staff.  This equipment will allow providers to monitor more patients with greater efficiency, and provide better care for the rural patients within the 5-county area they serve.