CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS), announced funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) Health Education and Research Institute, Inc. to support telenursing software upgrades, telemedicine expansion, and cardiology services integration.

These awards, which were secured through Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests made by Senator Capito, will be used to expand CAMC’s robust telenursing program with new equipment and software, increasing reach and reducing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) usage. The funding also aims to improve information sharing among health providers’ and CAMC’s cardiology departments, allowing CAMC to read and report computerized tomography (CT) scan results in real time.

“CAMC knows that expanding services and integrating workflow is at the heart of raising the standard of care for West Virginians,” Ranking Member Capito said.  “I am proud to continue supporting their expansion efforts, especially telehealth and telemedicine services so that they may revolutionize the way they meet patients at their homes. The new equipment this funding will support can help people in the most rural parts of the Mountain State receive the care they need, reduce waste, and get more timely and efficient results on potentially life-saving CT scans.”

“We are grateful for Senator Capito's continued support of health care and access in rural communities,” David Ramsey, president and CEO of Vandalia Health, said. “Over the past four years, CAMC has opened several telemedicine centers throughout West Virginia. In 2023, we expect to treat about 50,000 patients through the convenience of a telemedicine center closer to their home.”

Individual award details listed below:

  • $1,696,000 in CDS funding to support the Cardiovascular Information System standardizing reporting and streamlining workflows. This will allow for improved patient care through analysis of automated metrics as well as enable interoperability.
  • $1,500,000 in CDS funding to expand CAMC’s Telemedicine Regional Hub by purchasing technology for better information sharing between ancillary or nonaffiliated hospital systems with CAMC's cardiology team. This network will support patients to get the CT scans locally and will keep healthcare providers in their local communities and not only improve access, but also timeliness of care.
  • $750,000 in CDS funding to purchase Telenursing Software enabling more nurses to perform a large portion of patient care through telehealth devices and equipment.

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