Texas Tech University Health Science Center (TTUHSC) Odessa

Amount Appropriated?

$2.6M

FFID tracks stages 1–2 — stages 3–5 vary by agency, assistance type, and earmark structure.

Project Description

The Odessa Regional Telehealth Hub would expand access via telehealth and reduce overall health care costs (by delivering better preventative care and diverting patients from more costly care settings like emergency departments) and costs for individuals (who wouldn\u2019t need to pay for additional expenses like transportation that are associated with traditional in-person visits), making the overall process more cost-efficient to the public.\nTTUHSC Permian Basin School of Medicine has developed a regional community-based network spanning six counties of the Permian Basin. This network provides the infrastructure for the Family Medicine urban and rural residency training. The rural training program is a 1:2 model (one year urban in Odessa or Midland, Texas; and two years at the rural site). The Odessa Regional Telehealth Hub would utilize this existing network through TTUHSC\u2019s partnership with Ector County Independent School District (ECISD) and Medical Center Hospital (MCH) Systems to develop a school-based model to utilize telehealth provide broader access to care for students, school district staff and family members of the students. This model will eventually utilize the expanded telehealth network to provide health care access to 19 additional rural based school districts surrounding the Midland and Odessa area. \nThere remain some small communities which would still not have access to care. In these areas, the Odessa Regional Telehealth Hub will establish a community-based model that TTUHSC has established in Marathon, Texas. At the Marathon site, TTUHSC has partnered with residents who serve as the telehealth patient presenters located within a building provided by the community. This diversification of telehealth services would create additional workforce development opportunities for TTUHSC students specializing in mental health and prenatal care, providing further long-term benefits to the 11th District.