TELEMEDICINE GOES THE DISTANCE IN RURAL NORTHEASTERN OREGON
State: Oregon
Grantee: Grand Ronde Hospital
Counties: Wallowa, Union, Baker
Subject: Telemedicine

Wallowa Memorial Hospital, located in northeastern Oregon, in Wallowa County, is 65 miles from La Grande, the largest and closest city providing comprehensive medical care. This region of Oregon faces many barriers to effectively meeting its residents health care needs. It is geographically isolated due to rivers and mountains and the 65 mile drive through the winding mountain pass to La Grande frequently takes two hours, and even longer during the winter because of the harsh weather and road conditions. Access to medical care within the county is also limited to many residents because there is no mass transit. Wallowa County has a population of 7,150, averaging 2.6 persons per square miles and is currently experiencing economic hardship due to the closure of two timber mills in 1994. The loss of these jobs and the impact on the local economy has made traveling to receive medical services even more of a financial burden for many families. Additionally, Grande Ronde Hospital, in Union County, faces similar economic and geographic barriers to medical care as Wallowa County, indicating the medical needs of the population of northeastern Oregon are significant.

In 1993, Wallowa Memorial Hospital, Grande Ronde Hospital, and Oregon Health Sciences University created a partnership called the Northeastern Oregon Teleradiology Network (NOTN). The goal of the NOTN is to consolidate resources to coordinate and expedite medical care at reasonable cost to the residents of rural northeastern Oregon. Teleradiology and telemedicine applications are the future of medical care for rural communities, yet such services are usually too expensive for the communities to invest in without outside help. In 1995 the NOTN was awarded an RUS telemedicine grant award of $168 thousand. The funds were used to create a network that provides a medical link between these hospitals, utilizing technologically advanced linkages which enhance the relationship between primary care physicians at Wallowa Memorial and Grande Ronde’s radiologists and specialists.

The teleradiology equipment digitizes, transmits, reconstructs and manages radiological images across telephone wires. Distance consultations with specialists on a diagnosis are now available. Wallowa Memorial estimates that the teleradiology network will provide financial benefits to both hospitals and patients.

The hospitals expect at least a 5 percent increase in radiology procedures since the patients can have x-rays taken, sent and read within a reasonable time frame, reducing patient transfers and long travel times. Prior to the availability of teleradiology, these patients were lost to other hospitals, but with the advent of the new network the hospitals retain more patients resulting in increased revenue to the hospital and better health care services.