Connect2HealthFCC Task Force Beyond the Beltway Series: Jackson, Mississippi
The FCC's Connect2Health Task Force participated in a series of broadband health technology events during a two-day visit to Mississippi. The Task Force was joined by Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. The meetings, conferences, site visits, and FCC-hosted forum are part of the Task Force's “Beyond the Beltway Series” to leverage broadband technologies and next-generation communications services to improve access to health care services regardless of socio-economic background or geographic location.
While in Mississippi, the Task Force gathered information and data about broadband connectivity, health care access, and telehealth capabilities in rural and underserved parts of the state, and met with a broad range of stakeholders, including clinicians, state and local officials, industry groups, innovators, civic organizations, and consumers/patients in Mississippi. The visit also included meetings with the Governor of Mississippi, Phil Bryant; the state’s senior epidemiologist, Dr. Paul Byers; Chief Telehealth & Innovation Officer for the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), Dr. Kristi Henderson; and Russell Bennet, Interim Associate Dean of the Jackson State University School of Health Sciences. The UMMC hosted Commissioner Clyburn and the Task Force during much of their visit in Mississippi, and demonstrated the capabilities of their Center for Telehealth, and the recently launched Diabetes Telehealth Network, a new telehealth program that provides life-changing assistance to diabetes patients in the Mississippi Delta. The FCC also hosted a forum at the Jackson Medical Mall on the transformative power of broadband and public health.
FCC TELEHEALTH FORUM:
The Transformative Power of Broadband in Rural Public Health
Featuring participants from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson State University School of Health Sciences, the Mississippi Department of Health, Care Innovations – a GE-Intel Company, and the non-profit sector.
Broadband-Enabled Health Technologies:
Chronic Disease Management in Rural and Underserved Areas
RURAL BROADBAND SITE VISIT: FCC Goes to Sunflower County, MS
Diabetic Telehealth Pilot Project at North Sunflower Medical Center, Ruleville, MS
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant and FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, along with the Connect2HealthFCC Task Force, visited North Sunflower Medical Center as part of an ongoing public-private partnership to address the growing diabetes crisis that affects more than 370,000 adults in the state of Mississippi and 29.1 million people nationwide. The centerpiece of the partnership is a population health care model that leverages telehealth technology delivered over state-of-the-art broadband connections, and is designed to improve the health of participants while also reducing the total cost of care.
Participants in the Diabetes Telehealth Network are given tablets that enable healthcare providers to remotely manage patients with chronic conditions. With their tablets, patients share what’s going on with them physically, emotionally, and psychologically through daily health sessions with their clinicians. In addition, the tablets automatically capture their health data, such as weight, blood pressure, and glucose levels, and transmit that daily to clinicians. This daily information provided by patients gives clinicians a much more complete view of a patient’s health status permitting earlier, proactive care. Using broadband-enabled technology, clinicians can better engage and educate patients, easily adjust medical care plans, as well as schedule phone calls or video chats with patients.
News
- Blog: Just Around the Broadband Bend
- Mississippi Broadband Connect Summit: Commissioner Clyburn's Remarks
- News Release