The Fulton County Public Health Department in New York state will roll out a pilot telehealth program in July, the Leader Herald reports.
The pilot program will establish telehealth stations at sites throughout the county, including Johnstown, N.Y.-based Fulton-Montgomery Community College and the Fulton County Office for Aging and Youth.
The goal is to increase community members' access to local healthcare providers, according to Irina Gelman, DPM, director of public health for the department. "You're not calling California, you're calling a provider locally," she told the Leader Herald.
In three to five months, the department will evaluate the pilot program, including whether telehealth access successfully decreased readmissions and emergency room visits. The department may expand the program with a $80,000 grant from the Glens Falls, N.Y.-based Adirondack Health Institute Performing Provider System depending on its assessment of the pilot.