Eastern Plumas Health Care is once more being recognized for its robust telemedicine program. The close of 2015 saw EPHC grab the top spot in the 2015 Excellence in Telehealth Awards as the Number 1 Telemedicine Performer for the state of California.
Eric Brown, President and CEO of the California Telehealth Network, had this to say: “I’d like to congratulate the Eastern Plumas Health Care organization on their amazing progress in building their telemedicine program. I can remember first visiting Portola in the summer of 2010 when they didn’t have adequate broadband, no telemedicine equipment or training. To see the level of monthly telemedicine activity and the medical services that are now available to the community that were not available before is really a testament to the hard work of the EPHC team.”
Telemedicine allows EPHC and other rural, isolated health care organizations to provide quality specialty care that otherwise would mean a long drive and, potentially, a long wait for care.
The California Telehealth Network connects over 800 California healthcare providers in underserved areas to a state and nation wide secure broadband network dedicated to healthcare. EPHC’s telemedicine program offers specialty care in diabetes education, endocrinology, pain management, psychiatry, psychology, and rheumatology.
According to the program’s Coordinator, Erica Waldeck, the telemedicine program sees approximately 200 patients every month in the Portola Clinic. She said she “love[s] working with the patients and using technology to support our community.”