A small hospital with a big vision, Eastern Plumas Health Care has just completed its first year of dedicated telemedicine services, logging over 300 patients to date. On a recent day, telemedicine services were utilized by 18 patients with three providers at three separate sites.

EPHC’s Telemedicine program has recently added the following new programs/providers: Dr. Xiong, Psychiatry; Dr. Chung, Rheumatology; Michael Johnson, PhD, LCSW, Behavioral Health Counseling; Donna Guyot-Johnson, RN, FNP, MFT, Behavioral Health Counseling.

The following services will be added to the program shortly: Dr. Heifitz, Tahoe Forest Hospital, Oncology; and, Cardiology consultations in the Emergency Room and Acute Unit with Dr. Dhond, who already sees patients in our Graeagle Clinic two Fridays per month.

These new offerings are in addition to current services which include: Psychiatry, Endocrinology, Pulmonology, Diabetic Education, and the UC Davis Pediatric Intensivist program, which allows EPHC ER doctors to have real time pediatric emergency consultations with UC Davis Pediatric Specialists within 5 minutes. Utilizing telemedicine equipment, a Pediatric Specialist can observe the patient and direct the ER doctor in critical cases, as if he were in the room himself.

In addition, the telemedicine program is utilizing “hub” services, where an EPHC specialist in Portola provides services via the telemedicine network to Indian Valley. Dr. Grier (Family Practice, Internal Medicine), Dr. Collins (Neurology), and Melanie Buckley, PA, (Dermatology) all have participated in this service.

Always looking to expand available services, Mark Schweyer, Director of Telemedicine reports the Program “has just secured grant funding and a service contract to provide diabetic retinopathy screenings with a state-of-the-art retinal camera that will allow us to photograph the retina and send these images to the University of California – Berkeley, Department of Opthamology for review. This service allows us to provide the full spectrum of primary care services that diabetic patients need. Further, it will help prevent blindness in these patients.”

Schweyer said the Program also has received a grant-funded patient internet kiosk in the Portola clinic, which gives EPHC patients access to the latest health information. Patients visiting the clinic are encouraged to utilize the kiosk to learn more about health issues of particular interest to them.

Telemedicine equipment is utilized for staff education and inter-clinic conferencing, as well. In January, the Skilled Nursing Facility staff will receive valuable training from mental health experts who will assist them in caring for dementia patients.

Further, Schweyer said that “all of the Portola Medical Clinic rooms now have the ability to connect to the California Telehealth Network (a special medical internet that allows for high quality audio and video signal) as are our Acute Unit and Emergency Department. IT’s Rick Boyd and Aaron Whitfield have worked tirelessly to make this happen.”

EPHC’s Telemedicine Program, overseen by Schweyer and Telemedicine Coordinator, Auburn Rittenhouse, is a model of what rural telehealth services can provide to isolated communities throughout the State. As such, it has been featured in public radio interviews and on a statewide video about Telehealth.

As EPHC’s Telemedicine program continues its robust expansion efforts, patients can look forward to increasing specialist services and health education opportunities right here in their own community.