HCTC awarded $250k grant for telemedicine training

Hazard Community and Technical College is one of the recipients of SOAR s Kentucky Appalachian Regional Development Fund s grants in the amount of $250,000. These funds will be used to create a telemedicine technician certificate and workforce training program that will begin in January 2017.

HCTC will purchase four Portable Telehealth Systems which will be used by students in both classroom settings at HCTC and clinical settings at Hazard Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), Paul E. Patton East Kentucky Veterans Center and University of Kentucky s Center for Excellence in Rural Health (UKCERH). HCTC will employ a program coordinator to manage the program, recruit students and incumbent workers, and assist with job placement. Additionally, HCTC will offer scholarships to credential seeking students as well as incumbent workers participating in workforce training. HCTC will train 20 students or incumbent workers each year.

HCTC President Dr. Jennifer Lindon noted, With the expansion of broadband, telemedicine is now possible in our region. HCTC and healthcare providers have not been able to implement this technology because of limited broadband access. Now we can keep pace with the nation in these progressive healthcare technologies.

HCTC is appreciative for the support of Hazard Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), University of Kentucky s Center for Excellence in Rural Health (UKCERH), and Dr. Jyotin Chandarana in the pursuit of this progressive healthcare initiative.

Dr. Chandarana said telemedicine in this area means more people in more remote places with kidney diseases can be reached. I feel very honored to be able to do be involved with HCTC on this project, he said.

HCTC is a Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) college. SOAR has a unified mission to attract and grow jobs in Eastern Kentucky through better infrastructure, better health, better education, and better training