Medical DevicesUniversity Of Rochester Medical Center Receives HANYS' 2009 Community Health Improvement Award
The Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) presented its 2009
Community Health Improvement Award to University of Rochester Medical Center for its Health-e-
Access (HeA) Telemedicine Network.
HANYS established the Community Health Improvement Award in 1997 to recognize outstanding
initiatives that improve community health and well-being. The award is presented to facilities and
programs that target specific community health issues, demonstrate leadership, collaborate, create
partnerships among diverse groups, and achieve quantifiable results.
The HeA program has provided telemedicine care and service to children in 23 sites including childcare
programs, elementary schools, and a program for severely developmentally disabled children.
To date, more than 7,000 telemedicine visits have taken place among children in child-care centers
and schools. Ten different physician practices are participating in this initiative, including more than
50 clinicians. 96% of telemedicine visits were successfully completed at the child site, and did not
require a follow-up referral to a primary care practice or emergency department. In city child-care
centers, absence due to illness dropped by 63% following the introduction of Health-e-Access. In a
six-year study, emergency department use was 22% less for children with telemedicine access.
Healthcare Association of New York State