2010 Archive

Union Hospital Nominated for National Charitable Award

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Created on Saturday, 19 June 2010 10:20

According to awards chairman, Charles R. Evans, FACHE, the Hospital Charitable Service Awards seek to find, reward and share stories of hospitals that consistently push beyond their core mission of providing essential healthcare services and generously give back to the communities they serve.

"The work done by the Wabash Valley Rural Telehealth Network Program in medically underserved rural areas of Indiana and Illinois epitomizes the spirit of these awards," said Evans.

Hospital programs applied based upon five criteria areas: community impact, innovation, collaboration, transferability and best practice. "Not all applicants were accepted," said Evans. "To be considered a nominee, applicants must meet at least one of the criteria areas."

According to their official application, Union Hospital's Wabash Valley Rural Telehealth Network Program provides internet-based and live video telemedicine consultations to bridge the gap for the provisions of much-needed specialty services to rural providers. Services range from asthma and diabetes education to tele-mental health, neurology, tele-cardiology, and pediatric burn follow-up care and stroke treatment.

"To date, more than 1,000 consultations have been facilitated using telemedicine throughout the Wabash Valley," said Scott Teffeteller, Union Hospital interim CEO. "Through this program, we have been able to enhance the timeliness and quality of care patients receive, and the program now serves as a regional and national model for technologic integration of behavioral and other specialty health services into these settings."

"Jackson Healthcare wishes to thank Union Hospital, along with all the nominees, for their efforts to improve our communities through their charitable service," Evans said.

Nominees were encouraged to submit video descriptions of their program. These videos will be shared through the official awards website (www.hospitalcharitableserviceawards.org ) and social media sites like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Jackson Healthcare is also helping nominees share their stories through their local and regional media.