Objective

This will be a virtual community of sharing with subject matter experts from Federal, State, and local agencies and community partners who provide care and service in diverse communities. Discussion will focus on recognizing and celebrating the unique strengths of Alaska’s rural communities, HRSA resources available to rural communities to expand health care services through telehealth, and promising practices and challenges faced in Alaska to improve telehealth services in rural settings.

This event will feature presentations from:

• Doris Barta, Director, National Telehealth Technology Assessment Center (TTAC), ANTHC
• Jennie Hancock, ECHO Operations Director, University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Human Development
• Nicki Perisho, Program Director, Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center
• Cindy Roleff, ANTHC Director Telehealth Program Development
• Sydney McMaster, Public Health Analyst, HRSA Office of Regional Operations, Region 10
• Gloria Laryea, Public Health Analyst, HRSA Office of Regional Operations, Region 10

Hear from these individuals as they discuss:

• Information on HRSA's mission and programs  
• Strategies to establish effective partnerships in rural communities
• The strengths of Alaska's rural communities
• Strategies to overcome common challenges to broadband connectivity
• Project ECHO programs in rural communities

Target Audience

This webinar is best suited for rural health stakeholders, primary care providers, Tribal members, community health workers, behavioral health providers, and public health professionals in Region 10. Although this webinar focuses on the state of Alaska, individuals from other states may still benefit from the information shared. Please feel free to send in questions in advance of the event to the ORO email inbox at RegionX@hrsa.gov.

About the Panelists

Doris T. Barta, MHA, Director National Telehealth Technology Assessment Center (TTAC), Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC)

Doris T. Barta is the Director of the National Telehealth Technology Assessment Center (TTAC), one of two National Telehealth Resource Centers. TTAC provides in-depth objective assessments of telehealth technology and publishes the results of those assessments, as well as other pertinent information regarding telehealth technology on their website. TTAC also provides technology showcases during regional TRC conferences throughout the US, and during the COVID crisis, TTAC has provided the Showcases virtually. Ms. Barta has worked in the telehealth field since 1992, serving in the capacity of a telehealth network director as well as in the role of fund development for telehealth. Ms. Barta also served as the Principal Investigator for the Northwest Telehealth Resource Center for 10 years, advance the development, implementation, and integration of telehealth through sharing information, leveraging resources and creating a synergistic telehealth community. The NRTRC represents seven western states (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Utah, Washington and Wyoming). Through her wealth of experience in program planning and operations, Ms. Barta continues to assist healthcare organizations, networks, and providers implementing cost-effective telehealth programs serving rural and medically underserved populations, with a special emphasis on program development through shared training and expertise.

Jennie Hancock, ECHO Operations Director, University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Human Development

Jennie spent a decade teaching elementary students in Hawaii Public Schools, focusing on providing a quality, effective, inclusive learning environment for students with and without exceptional needs. She also held leadership positions with the Hawaii State Teachers Association, including Kona Chapter President, State Communications Committee Chair, and Government Relations Committee Representative. After moving home to Alaska, she transitioned into her current role as ECHO Operations Director for the University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Human Development, Alaska's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service. The UAA CHD ECHO Program currently coordinates roughly 30 different ECHO series, ranging from Public Health Response ECHOs relating to COVID19 to Telehealth and everything in between. While focusing primarily on improving health equity for Alaskans, the reach of the UAA CHD ECHO Program has extended as far as Tanzania and the Marianas Islands. Our program hopes to continue expanding and impacting health equity across Alaska while working collaboratively with community, government, and tribal partners. Learn more at www.akecho.org.

Nicki Perisho, Program Director, Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center (NRTRC)

Nicki Perisho, RN, BSN, BA, Program Director at the Northwest Telehealth Resource Center (NRTRC) brings a wealth of experience in telehealth and a focus on the patient to the NRTRC. She most recently served as Virtual Health Manager at Kalispell Regional Healthcare in Kalispell, Montana where, like many of you, she experienced the telehealth surge due to COVID-19. From her clinical background and years of telehealth experience in multiple specialties, Nicki has first-hand knowledge of the needs of healthcare providers and patients, and how those needs translate into best practices for telehealth. She also has a regional perspective, having served on the NRTRC Advisory Board prior to her role as Director and served on the executive committee of the Montana Telehealth Alliance. Nicki has presented on telehealth at national, state and regional conferences.

Cindy Roleff, MS, BSN, RN-BC, Director Telehealth Program Development, ANTHC

Cindy Roleff has worked a total of 18 years with ANTHC, 10 of them in telehealth. In her telehealth role, she works with sites throughout the Alaska Tribal Health System to increase and improve telehealth services. Prior to that, she served as the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) Supervisor of Hospital Education, facilitated the ANMC Nursing Internship and Preceptor Development programs, worked as a staff nurse in the ANMC Critical Care Unit, taught nursing at the University of Alaska and provided home health care in Anchorage, Alaska. Cindy is also a retired United States Air Force nurse. Altogether she has over 30 years of nursing experience (15 of which included health care provider education). She’s worked in a wide variety of settings from patient homes to small rural facilities to large inner city hospital environments. Cindy is the current Advisory Board Chair for the Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center. She holds a Master of Science in Business Organizational Management from the University of LaVerne. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Arts in Child Psychology from the University of Minnesota. Her board certification is in Nursing Professional Development.

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More Information

*If you would like to request an auxiliary aid such as Sign Language Interpretive Services, please contact the HRSA Office for Civil Rights, Diversity, and Inclusion at RA-Request@hrsa.gov at least 5 business days prior to the date of the event.

For more information, please contact Sydney McMaster | 240-460-5308 | srussell2@hrsa.gov.