Technology connect mothers-to-be in rural areas to doctors in cities
By: Emily Bregel, Chattanooga Times Free Press
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009
From nearly 60 miles away, Chattanooga obstetrician Dr. Joseph Kipikasa actually has a clearer view of the unborn baby’s heart chambers than if he were in the same city as the expectant mom, he said on Monday.
“It’s actually an improvement” over typical sonogram equipment, said Dr. Kipikasa, referring to the 46-inch, high-definition monitor.
From the Regional Obstetrical Consultants office on McCallie Avenue, the monitor allows him to view both the fetus and expectant mother in Tullahoma, Tenn.
The new monitoring technology is part of a pilot project geared to connect mothers-to-be in remote parts of East Tennessee with specialists in Chattanooga and Knoxville. On Monday during a mock examination with Amy Taylor, a real patient at the Harton Regional Medical Center in Tullahoma, local high-risk obstetricians demonstrated what they say are the life-saving capabilities of the project.
“This technology is going to allow us in the East Tennessee region to essentially have high-risk obstetrical care delivered to these hospitals and these practices on a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week basis,” said Dr. David Adair, founder of Regional Obstetrical Consultants, to a group gathered for the demonstration.
The three-year pilot project is funded by a $1.8 million grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation. The grant adds 11 rural sites to a network of 55 sites already linked to specialists through the nonprofit Community Health Network’s telehealth network. Community Health Networks, based in Oakdale, Tenn., aims to improve health care in medically underserved areas of Tennessee.
“People in rural areas can now easily access the specialists in the city ... without driving any further than they would for a local doctor’s visit,” said Keith Williams, chief executive officer of the Community Health Network.
Regional Obstetrical Consultants is one of three “hubs” that have the equipment to reach rural patients at those 11 sites, in addition to Erlanger hospital and the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Dr. Adair said.
There are only about 30 high-risk obstetricians in the state, but with the growing telehealth network, those specialists can reach patients in half the state’s counties, Dr. Adair said.
The BlueCross foundation is focusing on improvements in neonatal health, said Dr. Steve Coulter, president of government and emerging markets for BlueCross.
In Tennessee, the rate of low birth weight babies is nine per 1,000, and for black mothers it’s 17 per 1,000, he said.
“That’s an embarrassment to all of us,” he said.
Tennessee ranks 45th in its rates of low birth weight babies, said Leslie Ladd, state director of the March of Dimes, who attended Monday’s demonstration in Chattanooga.
“We have access to care problems with all the rural communities. There are so many without an (obstetrician) at all,” she said. “This will address one of the key factors (in low birth weight births), which is the lack of coordination of care.”
Dave Adair with Telemed Screen - 1-26-09
Dr. Adai r- Mayor Ron Littlefield - Keith Williams - Dr. Coulter with BC Grant Check - 1-26-09
Dr. Kipikasa with Telemed Unit in Consult Mode - 1-26-09
Regional Obstetrical Consultants Opens Satellite Offices in Cookeville, Tennessee, and Dalton, Georgia
Regional Obstetrical Consultants, a medical practice serving East Tennessee, has opened satellite offices in Cookeville, Tennessee, and Dalton, Georgia to provide high-risk obstetrical consultative services to those regions.
The Cookeville office, which opened in early December, 2007, is staffed on Mondays and Thursdays each week. The Dalton office is staffed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Perinatalogists from Regional Obstetrical Consultants’ Chattanooga or Knoxville offices will staff the satellite offices, along with a sonographer and registered nurse. They will be supported by other professionals in Regional Obstetrical’s facilities, including genetic counselors and diabetic counselors.
Regional Obstetrical Consultants works on a consultative/referral basis with the primary physicians and obstetricians and appointments will be scheduled through their offices. It also has satellite offices in Morristown, Tennessee.
The Cookeville practice is located in the Willow Place Conference Center building at 225 North Willow Avenue and the Dalton practice is located in the Northwest Georgia Medical Plaza at 1504 North Thornton Avenue, Suite 104.
“These satellite offices are an important part of our outreach efforts to provide the Upper Cumberland Plateau and the Dalton areas with the very best in perinatal services,” said Dr. David Adair, F.A.C.O.G., one of the principal partners of Regional Obstetrical Consultants.
The Dalton office is operated through an arrangement with Chattanooga’s Erlanger Hospital.
New Office Building -- Regional Obstetrical Consultants
Construction is underway for Regional Obstetrical Consultants’ new office building in Chattanooga. The 16,000 square feet, two-floor, facility is being constructed in the 900 block of McCallie Avenue near Erlanger Hospital. It is being designed to better serve Regional Obstetrical Consultants’ patients and will offer the best in conveniences, comfort, and medical services.
The building is scheduled to be completed in late 2008. Until then, Regional Obstetrical Consultants’ Chattanooga offices will continue to be located in the Erlanger Medical Mall at 979 East Third Street, Suite C-825.
Click here to view the architectural sketch
Click here to view a construction picture
Click here to view a construction picture
