Telemedicine broadband network construction to start

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

July 20, 2011

239-mile broadband connection to link 48 facilities; completion planned for July 2012

DAN HEATH Press-Republican The Press Republican Wed Jul 20, 2011, 06:18 AM EDT

PLATTSBURGH — Work is expected to begin this week on a broadband network linking 48 medical facilities in eight counties.

The $9.8 million Adirondack-Champlain Telemedicine Information Network, known as ACTION, is a proposed 239-mile network that would link facilities in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Rensselaer, Saratoga, St. Lawrence, Warren and Washington counties.

WHAT IT WILL DO

The network is expected to enable participants to more readily access and share information and reduce costs for transfer of medical information.

It will boost use of interactive audiovisual media for consulting, long-distance examinations and procedures.

Potential benefits also include access to electronic health-care records and health-care specialists who are often difficult to attract to the North Country.

And it offers a base for growth of a regional broadband network.

READY JULY 2012

Empire State Development provided $550,000 to the SUNY Research Foundation, the project's sponsor, to match funding provided by the Federal Communications Commission.

Roseanne Murphy, Empire State Development North Country regional director, said that matching funding was the final piece of the puzzle to start construction.

The project is expected to be finished by the end of July 2012.

'IMPORTANT'

"This is an important project because it is tying so many health-care facilities together," Murphy said in an interview Tuesday.

She hopes it will also provide the base to bring more broadband and telecommunications service to the region.

The project's main funding came in 2008 through a $7.6 million grant from the FCC Rural Health Care Pilot Program.

The Research Foundation also received $250,000 in planning funds from the Economic Development Administration and Empire State Development's City by City Capital grant program in 2007.

BIG STEP

Empire State Development President and CEO Kenneth Adams applauded all those involved for their work to launch the project.

"The ACTION project will dramatically improve the communication capabilities for health-care providers, who previously had little or no fiber access," he said in a statement.

"By developing and expanding the current broadband initiative in the North Country, we are taking another important step toward growing the local economy."

PARTNERS

Research Foundation Executive Vice President Bonny Boice said staff there was pleased to work with Empire State Development and Plattsburgh State to move the project forward.

"This was a true collaborative effort that facilitates the creation of an infrastructure to support innovative applications and communication capabilities for providers and improves the delivery of health care across eight counties in New York state," she said in the release.

The Research Foundation has selected the Development Authority of the North Country to construct the network. The Development Authority partnered with several local telecommunications companies in its bid, including ION, PrimeLink, SLIC Network Communications, Tech Valley Communications and Westelcom.

Development Authority Executive Director James Wright said working with the local service providers will allow it to build the network at the lowest cost while assuring a high level of local support will be available.

WHO IS IN

Among the local facilities participating are CVPH Medical Center, Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake, Elizabethtown Community Hospital, Inter-Lakes Health in Ticonderoga and St. Regis Mohawk Health Services.

Murphy said Plattsburgh State Director of Sponsored Research and Programs Michael Simpson did a great job of re-evaluating the project to make it more cost effective.

The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, the Essex County Industrial Development Agency and the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization — which operates a similar system in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties — provided assistance. State and federal representatives also helped develop the project.

KUDOS ROLL IN

U.S. Rep. Bill Owens (D-Plattsburgh) welcomed news that construction was to begin.

"This project is another step in the right direction to reduce the cost of health care and will allow us to build on the success we have seen from similar programs elsewhere in the North Country," he said in the release.

State Sen. Betty Little (R-Queensbury) said it is a great public-private partnership that will benefit many people in the future.

"Without question, this project is more than a worthwhile investment but a needed one in the North Country, where we have some unique challenges because of our rural nature," she said.

Assemblywoman Janet Duprey (R-Peru) said the announcement was great news for the local hospitals and their patients.

"Given the distances between our hospitals and our difficult winter travel, this project will save lives, money and time in meeting the medical needs of the North Country."

Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward (R-Willsboro) said in a statement that the network is great news for the Adirondack region, where electronic communication is a significant challenge.

"By linking our medical providers together, the North Country will not only take a giant step forward in improving health care but also in stimulating our local economy."

Email Dan Heath at:

dheath@pressrepublican.com