Lee Mental Health was recently awarded a $48,360.00 grant from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation to pilot a Telemedicine program, the first of its kind in Lee County.
Videoconferencing equipment, virtual stethoscopes and EKG machines compose the Telemedicine equipment that will be utilized. All can be used to successfully conduct real-time medical consultations and exams between a patient and doctor in two different locations.
Telemedicine sites will be located at the four project partners: Lee Mental Health Center, Southwest Florida Addiction Services, Family Health Centers, and Hendry Glades Behavioral Health.
“Our objective with this pilot project is to increase access to care and integrate mental health and substance abuse services with physical health,” said Dr. Don Baracskay, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Lee Mental Health Center.
The implementation of telemedicine also helps eliminate transportation barriers between a client and doctor, allowing clients to more easily keep their appointments. Integrating the medical disciplines will allow the project partners to communicate using Telemedicine and better serve clients who come to one location but may need the services of another provider.
