We are going to introduce the members of the Broadband Initiative Strategy Board. Our special thanks to John Scanlan for letting us start with him…
John Scanlan, former Medical Director for Blue Cross, recently retired from the position to focus on the issues that are most important to him. Luckily for us, that includes broadband, especially as it serves to promote improved healthcare services for rural Minnesota.
John plans to actively promote telehealth in several ways. He is looking into professional quality educational videos regarding the health and economic development implications for telehealth in rural communities. He recently joined the Board of Agriwellness, a 7-state nonprofit whose purpose is promoting behavioral healthcare services for the agricultural community. One of the programs is development of “Sowing Seeds of Hope” Coalitions in each state, which will be his focus in Minnesota.
He will also be helping resettlement efforts in St Paul (Neighborhood House), promoting social/cultural integration and wilderness experiences for people of varying physical and mental abilities (Wilderness Inquiry) and spending time with his wife, 5 daughters and 11 grandchildren.
Hope/Prediction for 2008
John is optimistic that funding from the FCC for the Greater Minnesota Telehealth Broadband Initiative will bring broadband into rural hospitals and that these communities will capitalize on the access. Their local focus can shift from getting to the superhighway to building the on-ramps, which should be more manageable.
A lot is happening in the field of telehealth in areas such as Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. Doctors are not as quick to jump on telehealth in Minnesota. We are still building specialty buildings when we could be serving a wider audience to build better ways to extend the specialties and expertise beyond the building. However, as doctors learn more they are becoming more interested. And so with the broadband coming into the local hospital and the doctors becoming more interested in technology – the stage is being set to support a rise in telehealth.
