Charlottesville-based University of Virginia Health has partnered with emergency medical services agencies and community healthcare organizations to establish a program expanding healthcare services in seven counties in Central Virginia.
The new program will be backed by a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, according to a Feb. 13 release from UVA Health. The program will be established in Buckingham, Culpeper, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson and Orange counties.
The program will provide training to healthcare providers in stroke education, telehealth technology and prehospital emergency care. The stroke education for physicians and other healthcare providers is in partnership with Blue Ridge Health District and Central Virginia Health Services.
Through the program, ambulances in the seven counties will have access to UVA Health's iTreat mobile telemedicine system. This system allows UVA physicians to directly speak to and examine patients while they are en route to the hospital with the goal of faster diagnoses.