OSU Center for Health Sciences to host first Project ECHO Summit in Oklahoma
Monday, August 19, 2019
The first Project ECHO Summit in Oklahoma will feature health care professionals, legislators and leaders in education addressing the impact Project ECHO has had on the state and the program’s expanding future.
Project ECHO, which was developed in 2003 at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, utilizes videoconferencing so health care providers in rural or underserved areas can consult with a team of specialists on patient cases. It not only allows primary care physicians, nurses and other clinicians to provide much needed specialty care to patients, but it also saves those patients time and money.
Nearly three years ago, OSU-CHS started a Project ECHO program and in that time has expanded to 10 health care lines across a number of focus areas including pediatrics, psychiatry, substance abuse disorders, infectious disease, behavioral/mental health, HIV, Hepatitis C, and nutrition and metabolic diseases.
The Project ECHO Summit is Thursday, Aug. 29 in the Tandy Conference Center in the A.R. and Marylouise Tandy Medical Academic Building on the OSU Center for Health Sciences campus, 1111 W. 17th St., in Tulsa.
OSU-CHS President, Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Oklahoma Secretary of Science and Innovation Kayse Shrum, D.O., will open the conference at 9 a.m.
“Technology has changed the way we live our lives, including the way physicians are caring for patients. Here at OSU-CHS, we take pride in using the ECHO learning platform to share our specialty knowledge with providers across Oklahoma. Providers can develop expertise in a wide range of specialty fields that will enable them to treat patients where they live. Because of ECHO, geographic location doesn’t determine whether or not a patient can receive the care they need,” President Kayse Shrum
Project ECHO continues to expand and grow in Oklahoma with OSU-CHS’ Project ECHO opening lines with the Oklahoma State Department of Education and with the Cooperative Council of Oklahoma School Administration to improve education outcomes throughout the state.
The Project ECHO Summit will also feature keynote speakers Dr. Sanjeev Arora, Director and Founder of Project ECHO in New Mexico, and Joy Hofmeister, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
There will also be panel discussions covering a number of topics including ECHO public policy, program sustainability, funding models and program expansion in Oklahoma.
“ECHO can advance the knowledge of any specialty field whether it’s health care, education, agriculture or even law. We must work together to identify ways to ensure the sustainability of this important program in Oklahoma and to expand its scope beyond health care and education. As new knowledge is created and best practices promulgated, remember that our rural neighbors should also benefit from these advancements. Every Oklahoman deserves access to quality and locally available health care services and educational opportunities.” President Kayse Shrum
MEDIA CONTACT: Melani Hamilton, managing director of Marketing and Communications at OSU-CHS, melani.hamilton@okstate.edu, 918-561-8462.