Program Information
AHI supports telehealth and telemedicine throughout an 11-county North Country region by serving as a resource, helping partners to assess their needs and readiness, connecting organizations to specialists, providing insight on equipment and vendors, helping navigate through regulatory and reimbursement questions, organizing educational opportunities, and sharing grant information. A collaboration with Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization, these efforts are funded through the New York State Department of Health.
In 2015, FDRHPO began a collaboration with the Adirondack Health Institute (AHI) to form the North Country Telehealth Partnership — a unified effort to plan and implement telemedicine throughout an 11-county catchment area, covering northern and central New York. This collaborative has quickly become Northern New York’s leading group focused on increasing access to healthcare through the innovative use of telehealth and telemedicine technology.
The Telehealth Learning Collaborative is a bimonthly video conference hosted by the North Country Telehealth Partnership. This event brings together stakeholders from across New York State to discuss strategies for successful telemedicine project implementation, sustainability, and continuity.
It features updates from key agencies such as the New York State Department of Health, the Office of Mental Health, the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, The Center for Medicare Services, as well as guest speakers. Discussions also address current challenges in telehealth, including reimbursement issues, evolving regulations, best practices, and future developments in the field.
In addition to the Learning Collaborative, AHI also hosts the North Country Leadership Summit, a premier event focused on telehealth and population health initiatives.
For those interested in past presentations and insights from the Learning Collaborative, you can explore the video series on AHI's YouTube page:
Digital Equity Focus
Real Stories, From Real People
“I remember a year ago lying on my sofa knowing I couldn’t go to the hospital in the middle of the night while I thought I was having a heart attack. The ambulance and ER would be $1,000 an hour and I couldn’t afford that – I have no insurance. I just stayed there petting my cat…they say petting your cat helps you’re blood pressure! Then, I received free telehealth equipment from ECHD to help me monitor my vital signs, blood sugar and weight. If you had told me a year ago it is all in the weight loss…I lost excessive weight and was able to stop 10 medications including BP and blood sugar medications. The only medication I take now is ½ of a cholesterol pill every other day. I depend on telehealth now. Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and test my vital signs and still can’t believe how well I am doing. I’m not going to die tonight, I tell myself! Telehealth made everything come together and yesterday I finished signing up for insurance for the first time. I was sobbing all the way through the process. If you think I was riding my horse fast last summer – watch me now that I have health insurance! I fly like the wind.”
~ Liz Rowe, Community User of Telehealth in Essex County, New York
Contact Us
Ready For The Next Steps?
Contact us to learn more about our bimonthly Telehealth Learning Collaborative and opportunities to present your work.
