The South Central Telehealth Resource Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has received a three-year grant totaling $975,000, renewing its funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
It marks the third time the HRSA administration has renewed its financial support since 2010, when it first supplied funding to establish the resource center, which serves the south central states of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
The resource center focuses on providing telehealth education and the interactions of health professionals via its website, LearnTelehealth.org. The LearnTelehealth.org website features custom videos, course modules, podcasts, blogs, and other resources designed specifically for healthcare professionals interested in creating or expanding the use of telemedicine within their practices.
The resource center develops each tool with subject-matter experts, ranging from technical experts, to health care specialists. Hands-on telehealth training also is conducted by the resource center at UAMS in the Adam D. Rule Center for Distance Health’s Training Center. The project is funded by the HRSA Office for the Advancement of Telehealth through the Telehealth Resource Center grant program.
“At the Telehealth Resource Center, we are very grateful for the renewed funding,” said Sarah Rhoads, PhD, the center’s director. “What is equally heartening is how this grant recognizes the value we are bringing to telehealth in the south central region, especially in teaching telehealth to underserved communities who are using it to get access to specialists beyond their local areas, as well as other health professionals they otherwise couldn’t reach.”
LearnTelehealth.org, has been a key tool in the center’s telehealth training. It is a widely used online resource to help organizations introduce, expand, and improve their telehealth efforts. The website is specifically and uniquely designed for any clinician, administrator, or technical associate seeking more expertise in telehealth.
LearnTelehealth.org serves as a gateway for all visitors interested in using or expanding their efforts in clinical or educational telehealth.
In the past six years, the Telehealth Resource Center has served about 20,000 people through presentations and live training, and developed more than 700 curriculum pieces from webinars, modules, and conferences to videos, podcasts, and other materials. Use of its website has grown from 2,032 users in the first year, to 16,511 in its sixth year.