January 13, 2023
SWOSU Press Release
Through a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, the Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) College of Pharmacy Rural Health Center has been awarded a $1 million grant to buy equipment to implement telemedicine in LeFlore County and Western Oklahoma counties over the next three years.
In the first year of the grant, SWOSU is collaborating with Eastern Oklahoma Memorial Center (EOMC) in Poteau (LeFlore County) by putting telemedicine equipment in six rural public-school locations in LeFlore County. The use of telemedicine equipment to provide medical services to schoolchildren and faculty in rural communities will be instrumental in improving healthcare concerns in the rural setting. The total populations of the towns that are being served in the first year of the grant is over 15,000 people with 2,500 students.
SWOSU will also have telemedicine equipment on the Weatherford campus in the School of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, and the Health and Wellness Department to provide student training and opportunities. Through the purchase of telemedicine equipment, SWOSU will expand its resources to serve more students and communities, helping to reduce the shortage of healthcare providers in rural areas and providing the university’s Diabetes Prevention Program to the state of Oklahoma. This equipment will allow the Health and Wellness Department to provide telehealth visits with medical providers and opportunities for training with SWOSU students.
In the second and third years of the grant, SWOSU’s goal is to serve 18 rural schools in western Oklahoma counties. The total populations of the towns that are being served in the second and third years is over 50,000 people with over 12,000 students.
SWOSU looks forward to bringing telemedicine/telehealth resources to Oklahoma’s rural communities.
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