Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #474 Pediatric Echocardiography Telecommunication Network for North Fla.
Requester:	Thomas Chiu, M.D.		Organization:		Children's Medical Services
Project Title:	Pediatric Echocardiography Telecommunication Network for North Fla.		Date Submitted:		01/21/2000 11:26:36 AM
District Member:	Anna Cowin		Service Area:		Regional
Counties Affected:	{Statewide}
Recipient:	Children's Medical Services/Dept. of Health		Contact:		Thomas Chiu, M.D.
	2020 Capitol Circle SE, Bin A-06		Contact Phone:		(904) 549-3056
	Tallahassee 32399-1707
Project Description:
Provide network to link community neonatal units with pediatric cardiologists in Jacksonville & Gainesville and expand clinic space at Wolfson's Children's Hospital for increased patient volume. ($250,000 recurring, $800,000 non-recurring).
Services Provided/Benefit to State:
Provide faster diagnoses of congenital heart diseases to community hospitals, including the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, by establishing the network and appointing its technical director. The Department of Health/Children's Medical Services has previously sponsored the Pediatric Cardiac Care Network of the University of Florida to initiate and further develop neonatal heart transplantation surgery, pediatric electrophysiology, and preventive cardiology. This Network in turn has expanded these specialized care services for infants and children across north Florida to the Panhandle and south to Daytona from Shands/Jacksonville, Shands/Gainesville and Wolfson Children's Hospital. The ability of the Pediatric Cardiac Care Network of the University of Florida to rapidly triage young and critically ill patients could be greatly enhanced by telecommunication of real time heart images between health care providers and eschocardiographic technicians in local communities to expert consultants in these specialized centers of excellence. This screening would be performed in outside hospitals of north Florida, where 300-500 neonates are born annually with serious heart disease, and other facilities, where children are found needing skilled evaluation, e.g., the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. Recurring monies are requested for a technical director coordinating this telecommunications network and facilitating education of local community technicians and health care providers. With the Shared Service Agreement between the now Shands/Jacksonville and Wolfson Children's Hospital four years ago and with the merger of the UF Pediatric Cardiology Programs in Jacksonville and Gainesville, the outpatient volume from northern Florida assessed in Jacksonville has quadrupled in the past decade. Though Wolfson Children's Hospital invested over seven million dollars on inpatient surgical and cathterization facilities during the past four years, on site preparations for required clinic and administrative space have not been addressed. Now nonrecurring funding is sought to eliminate these needs by the coordination and centralization of outpatient and personnel space. Such monies would be partially matched by hospital and UF Funds.
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
Increased care for children with congenital heart disease.
Amount requested from the State for this project this year:				$1,050,000
Total cost of the project:		$1,050,000

Request has been made to fund:			Operations and Construction
Is there Local Government or Private match for this request?						Yes
	Cash Amount:	$400,000		In-Kind Amount:		$300,000
Was this project previously funded by the State?						No
Is future-year funding likely to be requested?						Yes
	Amount:	$250,000
	Purpose for future year funding:				Recurring Operations
	Will this be an annual request?					Yes
Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?						Yes
	Agency:	Health, Department Of
Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?						Yes
Is there a documented need for this project?						Yes
	Documentation:	Nationally recognized consultants in Pediatric Cardiology
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?						Yes
	Hearing Body:	Duval County Legislative Delegation
	Meeting Date:	01/13/2000