UAMS will provide medical care to Lee County via video
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Updated: April 17, 2007
The three-year program GÇô the first of its kind in Arkansas - will test the cost-effectiveness of providing distance health to poor, underserved areas.
Lee High School and Whitten Elementary were selected after the need was determined and with support from Lee County Superintendent Wayne Thompson. Other partners with the project are the Lee County Community Health Center and the Lee County Health Unit.
The grant brings pediatric care as well as behavioral management expertise to one of the most medically underserved counties in Arkansas. The county has no pediatrician and a lack of transportation often prevents residents from seeking medical care until a trip to the emergency room is necessary.
The grant pays for a registered nurse on site and a nurse practitioner on the UAMS campus to diagnose most illnesses.
Medical treatment will be provided using two-way interactive video and medical devices that can be monitored over long distances. In the second and third years of the grant, equipment will be placed in the homes of diabetic and asthmatic children to monitor the management of their diseases.
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