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Feature Articles 
Doolittle Receives Kemper Fellowship 
On August 31, Gary Doolittle, MD, KUMC Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, medical director of the Midwest Cancer Alliance and long-time telemedicine provider at KUCTT was awarded a $5,000 Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence. Kemper fellowships recognize outstanding KU and KUMC teachers and advisors, as determined by a seven-member selection committee. These awards, presented for the past 14 years, are supported by a generous gift from the William T. Kemper Foundation (Commerce Bank, trustee) and matching funds from KU Endowment.
Many of you may be familiar with Dr. Doolittle who, through both extensive research and frequent clinical activity, has been an important contributor to KUMC's telemedicine efforts for nearly 20 years. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Medicine, completed his residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at KUMC and has been a member of the faculty since 1991. He is active in curriculum development for first-year medical students, and serves as the director of Internal Medicine Clerkship activity for third-year students.
Dr. Doolittle was named medical director for the Midwest Cancer Alliance (MCA) in 2007. The MCA is a network of hospitals providing cancer care across the region, and functions as the outreach arm of the University of Kansas Cancer Center. As medical director, Dr. Doolittle oversees the recruitment of MCA members and oversight of clinical trials and cancer care services throughout the region.
It has been a great pleasure for all KUCTT staff members to have worked with Dr. Doolittle over the years, and we are extremely pleased to announce his having received this prestigious distinction.
Want Your School To Be Filled With Healthy Kids? We can help. 
The Healthy Schools Project at KUMC is currently recruiting schools for participation during the 2009-2010 school year.
Since 2003, The Healthy Schools Project has been teaching overweight children and their families to live healthier lives through nutritional awareness, physical activity and health behavior change. These free, NIH-funded intervention services have been made available in partnership with many wonderful school personnel throughout Kansas.
Signing your school up for The Healthy Schools project means that children and parents at your school who have concerns about their weight will receive intervention that is fun and active, with both parents and children participating, along with school and KUMC representatives. Intervention sessions are conducted over telephone or internet-based video conferencing at your school.
"Why try this at my school?" you might ask.
- Your school receives a Digital Column Scale and Stadiometer FREE!
- All services are at no cost - FREE!
- KUMC personnel will be there to assist every step of the way - FREE!
- Schools or their representatives can receive payment for their time - $$
- School representative training is available through video conferencing - No Travel Required!
For more information or to get your school started, contact Dr. Ann McGrath Davis at 913-588-5928 or
adavis6@kumc.edu.
HEALTH 3.0 FOLLOW-UP: EHR Use and ARRA Funding 
Future use of electronic health information was a topic of great interest at this year's HEALTH 3.0: Kansas Health Information Technology (HIT) 2009 Conference in Wichita. David Nace, MD, introduced us to what we could expect from a national perspective. Roderick Bremby, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) introduced what actions KDHE would be taking at the state level. Melissa Hungerford from the Kansas Hospital Association reviewed what could be expected on the local level. Plus, questions about federal stimulus (ARRA) funding and HIT Grant Programs (HITECH) seemed to be brought up in every breakout session.
At the federal level, the responsibility for HIT decisions lies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where an HIT-specific web site has been created to keep everyone informed of the latest developments:
http://healthit.hhs.gov. For example, did you know that the HIT Standards Committee has recommended that electronic health record (EHR) certification standards be changed to incorporate "baseline requirements" for 2011, followed by gradually increasing levels of standards for years 2013 and 2015? These changes are intended to:
- Enable a greater number of organizations and physician practices to meet the year 2011 deadline for "meaningful use" of EHR and, thus, qualify for ARRA funds,
- Provide clearer guidance that should produce greater interoperability between systems, and
- Recognize the enormity of change required by both the healthcare community and the public.
Healthcare providers can expect to see EHR software providers offering "baseline" (or "2011") systems that meet federal requirements for 2011, plus more robust systems that will meet or exceed requirements for 2013 and 2015.
Take the time to view the minutes from the August 14, 2009, meeting of the Health IT Policy Committee, a HHS Federal Advisory Committee, and read the final recommendation for defining a "Meaningful Use" matrix. It includes:
- Priority Outcomes
- Care Goals
- Objectives (2011, 2013 and 2015)
- Measures (2011, 2013 and 2015)
Minutes from all HIT Sub-Committee meetings, plus developments on stimulus funding and the definition of "meaningful use," can all be followed at the Health IT web site (
http://healthit.hhs.gov), or call Gordon Alloway at KUCTT (913.588.2257).
U. S. Representative Moran Visits Telemedicine Center 
Pictured from left are: U. S. Rep. Jerry Moran, Gary Doolittle, MD, University of Kansas Medical Center, Jonathan Davis, Mt. Carmel Medical Center CEO, Robert Huebner, Mt. Carmel physician, in the cancer wing at Mt. Carmel
During the recent congressional break, U. S. Rep. Jerry Moran, a long-time supporter of telemedicine, scheduled hospital visits to Pittsburg, Chanute and Independence to talk about access to health care. "A good way to gauge the future of a community is to analyze its access to health care," according to Moran.
In Pittsburg, Moran stopped in at Mt. Carmel Medical Center for a demonstration of new telemedicine capabilities utilized by the hospital's cancer center.
Mt. Carmel CEO Jonathan Davis said that telemedicine technology was especially vital for Mt. Carmel's cancer patients who could gain access to top-notch cancer specialists without traveling long distances. Moran said cutting down on those distances was a must to help people in rural areas receive care.
Training Across Generations 
WHAT: A 4-part Webinar Training Series
STARTS: October 13, 2009
TIME: 1:30 Eastern / 12:30 Central
WHO: Rob Lion, Assistant Dean, NMU Rob Lion is conducting a 4-part lecture series on how employers can effectively train and educate their employees. Lion is the Assistant Dean of the College of Business at Northern Michigan University. He holds a broad skill set and extensive experience in educational leadership, training and performance improvement. Lion holds a Master's of Science in Educational Leadership and plans to complete his doctorate this December. This webinar is targeted towards professionals including Staff Development Coordinators, Human Resource Managers and Supervisory staff.
To enroll or for more information, contact:
Midwest Alliance for Health Education
http://www.medwesthealthed.org "Providing webinars and other online educational content for when your time and access is limited."
New Grant Increases Rural Pediatric Epilepsy Services 
Although children diagnosed with epilepsy have a high need for both specialized healthcare services and comprehensive community support, many rural communities lack the resources to meet these special needs. As one of the many organizations concerned about the needs of Kansas communities, the University of Kansas, through the KU Medical Center, the KU School of Medicine - Wichita, and KU Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), has provided both direct training and distance education on an ongoing basis to address these needs.
Fortunately, beginning this October 26th, funding from a new Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) federal service grant will enable KUCTT to team with pediatric epilepsy experts throughout the KU Medical Center and AHEC to expand and enhance both development and delivery of rural epilepsy programming. KUCTT will adapt additional pediatric epilepsy curriculum for the interactive video delivery format and tailor these efforts specifically to rural clinics and schools in Kansas, plus the surrounding communities.
What can you expect to see from these efforts?
- New educational and training materials for your schools, related to the specific needs of students with epilepsy
- An increasing number of video training opportunities for those involved in assisting children with epilepsy
- Greater access to family-centered evaluation, treatment, transition and adjunct services
- More training in rural pediatric epilepsy care for student health professionals
This three-year program is expected to provide training and programming to approximately 600 health professionals and 300 school personnel. In addition, the program is expected to support over 300 clinical telemedicine consultations and draw in students from a wide range of health professions. Watch future issues of TeleNews for announcements regarding newly-developed training sessions that are expected to be available from the regional AHEC offices this spring. You can also track all AHEC educational offerings on their web site -
http://kuahec.kumc.edu/ Our thanks to the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health & Human Resources (HRSA) for its generous funding of this expanded programming that will benefit all children diagnosed with epilepsy, and for its continued support of Kansas' health care efforts.
TeleKidcare® Helps School Nurses Fight Flu 
For the first time, school nurses in eight Kansas City metropolitan area elementary schools will have a new ally in the fight against the flu; doctors from the University of Kansas Medical Center will be available to assist with in-school efforts to keep the H1N1 virus away from school children. Using interactive video conferencing equipment as part of the TeleKidcare program, school nurses will be able to utilize a telemedicine connection with KUMC to help determine if an ill child may have the flu and need to be excluded from school.
By assisting school nurses on an "as-needed" basis, KUMC Pediatricians will not only reduce the chance that an ill child might spread the virus to other school children, but also reduce the number of children needing to be transported to an outpatient clinic simply to receive a definitive flu diagnosis. The quicker a child with flu-like symptoms is able to rest at home, the better it is for the child, other students and the public in general.
TeleKidcare is KUCTT's nationally-recognized program that uses interactive video technology to provide school nurses with access to KU physicians each day, in an effort to overcome the significant barriers to timely health care for elementary, middle and high school children. Since its inception in 1998, TeleKidcare has evolved from providing exclusively acute care for sore throats, ear aches and similar ailments, to include assessments, treatment, and management of a range of mental health concerns such as ADHD, depression and mood disorders, grief and adjustment reactions, and anxiety disorders.
For more information about the TeleKidcare program at KUCTT, contact Gretchen Patch, TeleKidcare program manager at
gpatch@kumc.edu or (913) 588-2352.
