Senate Community
Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #1487 Telemedicine Behavioral Healthcare, Inc. |
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Requester: |
Tim Atkinson |
Organization: |
Meridian Behaviorial Healthcare, Inc. |
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Project Title: |
Telemedicine Behavioral Healthcare, Inc. |
Date Submitted: |
01/31/2000 8:28:33 AM |
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District Member: |
Richard Mitchell |
Service Area: |
Regional |
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Counties Affected: |
Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Putnam, Suwannee, Union |
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Recipient: |
Meridian Behaviorial Healthcare, Inc. |
Contact: |
Tim Atkinson |
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Rt. 10, Box 418 |
Contact Phone: |
(047) 580-5558 283 |
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Lake City 32025 |
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Project Description: |
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In collaboration with the Department of Children and Families(DCF), Putnam Behaviorial Healthcare, the University of Florida/Shands Healthcare and Northeast Florida State Hospital(NEFSH), Meridian proposes to establish a telemedicine behavioral health network in DCF District III providing services to children and adults. Expanding on its existing network of computers and dedicated phone lines, Meridian plans to link five rural clinics with Meridian's headquarters in Gainesville, and with Shands and NEFSH. Through this network, patients in clinics located throughout District III could be seen by a psychiatrist in Gainesville all on the same day without anyone traveling to or from Gainesville. Other appliactions include consultations, commitment hearings and conferences with staff, patients and families at NEFSH. |
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Services Provided/Benefit to State: |
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District III of the Department of Children and Families(DCF)includes eleven counties, covers almost 6,900 square miles and comprises 13% of the land area of the state. Except for Gainesville, this region is a rural area with high levels of poverty and limited access to behavioral healthcare. Meridian and Putnam behavioral medical staff currently see 450 children and 1,850 adults per year. DCF estimates that 10,454 adults and 5,336 children in District III are in need of mental health services but not currently receiving them. Telecommunications has the capacity to overcome the barriers of time and distance. several states, including Georgia and South Carolina, are already utilizing extensive telemedicine networks to improve and expand accessibility of behavioral healthcare services in rural areas, especially for children. This project will enlist the effiency of telecommunications to bring behavioral healthcare services to citzens in a rural area for the first time in the state of Florida. It will also create better linkages between state hospitals and families, consumers and local providers. with measurable outcomes that meet the test of accountability, the project can produce useful information for other districts and state hospitals in the application of telemedicine networks in the delivery of behavioral healthcare. |
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Measurable Outcome Anticipated: |
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Outcomes of the proposed telemedicine network will include a measurable reduction in travel time for professional staff, allowing for an increase in services actually provided. Estimates indicate a productivity increase equivalent to one and one-fourth man-year for medical staff ($130,000) and three-fourths of a man-year for case managers ($22,000). Direct savings in the cost of travel are expected to amount to $23,000 per year. Additional savings are also expected to be realized in costs of staff training, case management and family consultations. waiting time for rural patients will be significantly reduced by more flexible scheduling. |
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Amount requested from the State for this project this year: |
$298,500 |
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Total cost of the project: |
$343,500 |
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Request has been made to fund: |
Operations and Construction |
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Is there Local Government or Private match for this request? |
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Yes |
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In-Kind Amount: |
$45,000 |
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Was this project previously funded by the State? |
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No |
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Is future-year funding likely to be requested? |
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Yes |
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Amount: |
$105,000 |
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Purpose for future year funding: |
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Recurring Operations |
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Will this be an annual request? |
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Unknown |
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Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request? |
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No |
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Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget? |
No |
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Is there a documented need for this project? |
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Unknown |
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Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)? |
No |
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