Extension project introduces telehealth access to rural libraries

Extension project introduces telehealth access to rural libraries

Thursday, July 25, 2024

Media Contact: Gail Ellis | Editorial Communications Coordinator | 405-744-9152 | [email protected]

A telehealth project initiated by the Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Economics is helping improve health care services in four rural Oklahoma communities.

Brian Whitacre, OSU Extension specialist for rural economic development, led the effort to secure grant money to build telehealth booths or rooms in the libraries of Atoka, Broken Bow, Hinton and Okemah. Computers, cameras, screens and other equipment were purchased and installed.

Whitacre and additional OSU Extension and agricultural economic colleagues educated library officials on how to use the telehealth systems and connect with health care providers. Whitacre said the booths and rooms provide more accessibility to rural residents.

"A person can visit their local library and connect with a specialist that they might otherwise have had to wait months or drive hours to see," he said. "Now, the appointment is a short trip to the library. It's cool to work with great community partners on this project."

The Okemah Library's telehealth booth is located in the basement of its media center, formerly used as a church. A town of about 3,000 people, Okemah is an hour-long drive to both Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Since offering the private telehealth space in August 2023, the Okemah Library has assisted residents with scheduling appointments and walk-in opportunities. The private booth is convenient for mental health appointments, virtual prescription refill consultations and quick wellness checks involving blood pressure readings and other vitals.

Broken Bow Library opened its telehealth room in March 2024, and library manager Sherri Blake said residents are pleased to access its technology and avoid the stress and financial burden of a long road trip to a larger city's health care facility. Staff members help schedule appointments, set up Zoom meetings and sanitize the booth after every visit. Residents can even schedule time on a Saturday.

"We're hoping we can get older people more comfortable with using it," Blake said. "We provide digital assistance so that's not a barrier for them, and we assure people they have privacy. People worry if they're going to be heard, but it's a soundproof booth, and we also have sound machines."

Taylor Meriwether with the Oklahoma Department of Public Libraries advocates for digital equity in libraries statewide as the department's technology digital accessibility officer. A librarian in Hinton until 2023, she helped the Hinton Library implement technology heavily beginning in 2014. The library received word from Whitacre and the Oklahoma Department of Libraries that it had been chosen for a telehealth location in 2022. Now in her state role, Meriwether is helping define telehealth standards for rural libraries.

"We see how much of a need there really is for this service, and we're evaluating what distinguishes a location for telehealth potential," Meriwether said.

Atoka (population 3,200), Hinton (population 4,900) and Okemah have large Talk Box studio booths that are wheelchair accessible and can hold two people if patrons would like a family member or helper present. Broken Bow's (population 4,200) space is smaller, comparable to a phone booth, but all are soundproof and have UV sanitation and lights.

Gail Oehler, executive director of the Southern Oklahoma Library System, initially collaborated with Whitacre in 2019 to provide Wi-Fi hotspots to Atoka residents through the local library. Whitacre's expertise in rural broadband access and funding as a member of the Oklahoma Broadband Council helped the Atoka Library expand to offer a telehealth booth years later.

"He was so willing to help libraries make these important milestones happen," Oehler said. "He was a facilitator with the paperwork, answered our questions and put us in touch with people. It's all still so new to people that libraries are offering this. When we needed to learn how to write procedures and outfit the booths, he was our contact."

She said the libraries in Sulphur and Tishomingo have also recently created telehealth spaces with grant money from AARP Oklahoma.

"As we move toward more mental health counseling sessions for people, the private setting of a telehealth booth is secluded but welcoming because you're walking into a public library," Oehler said. "We're willing to do these kinds of partnerships and innovative projects like the one with OSU Extension because it's our mission as a local library."