Back to home page PeaceHealth awarded $500,000 to provide teleradiology to rural hospitals and clinics Posted 10/22/2003 A $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service is helping to bring state-of-the-art radiology to Cottage Grove and Florence. The funds will aid development of a $1.3 million telemedicine network connecting Cottage Grove Community Hospital and Peace Harbor Hospital in Florence and their associated medical clinics with Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene. The clinics and hospitals will be connected by DS-3 or wireless spread spectrum. Rather than storing radiology scans on film and transporting them to Eugene, the rural facilities will now be able to send 128-bit encrypted data files which can be translated and read on computers anywhere in the network. The new system will save hours of diagnostic and travel time, as well as compensate for the lack of specialized radiology staff in rural locations. “The transition to digital radiology is one of the biggest technological changes that will benefit both patients and clinicians,” says Tim Herrmann, administrator at Cottage Grove Hospital and Clinics. “The consultation possibilities are really wonderful. You could have an emergency department doctor, a radiologist and an orthopedic surgeon all at different locations looking at the same images at the same time.” The new Cottage Grove hospital, which opened Oct. 7, already has an integrated electronic Picture Archival and Communication System (PACS) in place to store images and make them easily accessible anywhere on the network. Some imaging studies, including CT scans and ultrasound, are digital in nature. The new teleradiology technology will allow transmission not only of these images but of “plain film” x-ray images as well. Both Peace Harbor Hospital and Cottage Grove Community Hospital are designated Critical Access Hospitals by the federal government. The designation acknowledges the key role these small hospitals play in maintaining access to health care in economically distressed rural communities serving high numbers of uninsured individuals. Teleradiology provides rural residents with the same quality of radiology services they would receive at a large regional medical center, saving patients the time and expense of traveling out of town. By helping to retain patients, teleradiology contributes to the financial health of economically fragile rural hospitals. A total of 84 Distance Learning and Telemedicine grants totaling more than $32 million were awarded this year. PeaceHealth is one of three grant recipients in Oregon. "These grants will expand state-of-the-art health care and educational resources to families in rural Oregon," said Lynn Schoessler, Oregon state director for U.S.D.A. Rural Development. For more information, email PeaceHealth's Public Affairs office.