Deborah Duffy Senior Vice President, Virtual Health and Access | Allegheny Health Network
Deborah Duffy Senior Vice President, Virtual Health and Access | Allegheny Health Network
Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Grove City Hospital has been awarded a grant of nearly $500,000 from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), supplemented by matching funds from AHN. The funding aims to enhance telemedicine programs for rural communities in Mercer, Lawrence, Venango, and Butler counties.
Rural hospitals often struggle with maintaining adequate nursing staff and providing timely stroke treatment. This grant will support Grove City Hospital in expanding its tele-neurology program and implementing a digital nursing initiative. The USDA’s Rural Utilities Service program provides this funding to improve infrastructure and telemedicine services in rural areas.
"This funding will address these issues directly," said Christopher Clark, DO, MHA, president of AHN Grove City Hospital. "By integrating digital nursing and expanding the teleneurology program, AHN Grove City is proactively taking steps to enhance patient care and improve health outcomes for the rural communities we serve."
AHN introduced its first digital nursing program at AHN Forbes Hospital in 2023. Digital nurses work alongside bedside nurses using remote communication technologies to interact with patients more efficiently.
"The Digital Nursing program will equip patient rooms with cutting-edge audio-visual technology," stated Alicia LaPalombara, Director of Clinical Informatics and Digital Health. "Patients will benefit from the presence of digital nurses who can manage administrative components of tasks like admissions, discharges, and patient rounds."
Grove City Hospital's telestroke service is entering its fifth year. It offers 24/7 access to AHN vascular neurologists who remotely assess patients with acute stroke symptoms using advanced AI technology.
"This initiative will help grow and sustain the program," commented Stephen Samples, MD, AHN Chair of Neurology. "Through this kind of program, we’re addressing some of the most pressing health care needs in these rural communities."
The hospital recently received the ‘Pennsylvania Rural Health Community Program of the Year Award’ from the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health for its innovative approach to increasing healthcare access in rural areas.
For more information on telehealth services at AHN, visit their website.
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