The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
At their September 28 regular meeting, the Snow Lake District Health Council (DHC) voted unanimously to bring a time and money saving piece of health technology to the citizens of their community and the area. Telehealth, a program designed to reduce the need to travel for health care, increase educational opportunities for physicians and healthcare workers, and link patients with their families during times when medical needs keep them apart for extended periods of time, is coming to Snow Lake. Telehealth will basically allow the citizens of Snow Lake access to remote health services at the flick of a switch. Services that might have otherwise taken months to set up and hours to get to. Using money from an account called the Snow Lake Health Auxiliary Foundation Fund, all installation costs for the telehealth system will be borne locally. These costs are estimated to be in the neighbourhood of $25,000 - $30,000. This system is offered through MBtelehealth which itself is one of 27 federally funded telehealth projects. MBtelehealth was initialized in the spring of 2001 with a stated goal of providing quality information and knowledge at the point of care for all Manitobans, wherever they reside, while utilizing the latest in information technology to achieve that goal. Following its inception, the network was established as an ongoing program in 2003 and in that time has witnessed 98 per cent growth, without any growth in its budget. This lack of a budgetary increase has resulted in delayed expansion of the service outside of the communities it is presently in. It was for this reason, and the availability of the money in the Foundation Fund, that the members of the DHC decided to go after the service on their own. In explaining the program at a recent community health assessment meeting, MBtelehealth Site Supervisor Liz Adair discussed a situation most everyone in the North has experienced. She talked about people having to ride the bus all night, and then travel by taxi to a clinic or hospital in an unfamiliar city. Finally, after a lengthy wait, the person would get to see a doctor who might spend just minutes with them before sending them on their way. See 'Consult' P.# Con't from P.# "Although telehealth won't eliminate all face-to-face consultations, it does give patients the opportunity to consult with physicians and specialists based in other locations using real-time video conferencing," said Adair. In addition to the real-time video consulting capability of telehealth, the MBTelehealth network also offers an easily accessible and cost effective way of delivering educational opportunities, healthcare administration, and family visitations. It seems the system's uses are limitless. MBTelehealth's website details the many benefits of the system and explains that Tele-education is an efficient and affordable way to create an online classroom, with learners situated in their own communities. Using a telehealth link to connect a teacher, speaker, or specialist with students, they are able to see, hear and talk to each other via cameras and television screens at each individual location. In the case of Televisitation, this service is used where patients and their families are separated by distance. Using the telehealth technology, this component allows patients to remain in a location where the best possible care is available to them, while allowing family members to offer support and comfort via real-time video. The Teleadministra-tion aspect is available to health care administrators in order to reduce travel while increasing their ability to participate in regional provincial meetings. The community's telehealth center will be located in the Snow Lake Health Center. It is expected that wiring, equipment positioning, and training will begin soon, and that the system will be operational within three months time.
