Telemedicine Technology with Customer Relations Specialist Michelle Thomas
Highlighting the work of one of our team members as she brings telemedicine to rural communities with a heartfelt dedication to patient care
In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the term ‘telehealth’ is being widely used by health officials to encourage using a virtual connection between medical providers and patients. The use of telehealth, often referred to as telemedicine, is loosely defined by the Mayo Clinic as the use of digital information and communication technologies, such as computers and mobile devices, to access health care services remotely and manage patient health care.
Telehealth technology isn’t new per se — but due to the pandemic and the risk of community spread, telehealth is more important than ever for providing care. Trinity Dynamics is proud to say we’ve offered our telemedicine kits since 2017, and they’re being used in medical settings large and small, from individual doctor’s offices to schools and group home settings.
However, long before the pandemic, telemedicine was solving a need for underserved communities in rural locations — and today, as the coronavirus seeps into rural communities, the use of telemedicine is more important than ever. And Michelle Thomas, one of our Customer Relations Specialists at Trinity Dynamics, has championed the use of our telemedicine kits to provide care for patients who might not otherwise have access to it, primarily focusing on those in rural locations in Kentucky that are often underserved with access to medical care.
A telemedicine kit eliminates time and distance barriers between patients and providers by offering high-quality telehealth solutions that facilitate a complete virtual consultation and examination. By equipping provider organizations – hospitals, home healthcare services, nursing homes, and schools – with videoconferencing technology and FDA-approved diagnostic devices, Trinity Dynamics is advancing healthcare through technology. [ view our telemedicine brochure here ]
The Importance of Telemedicine In Rural Communities
According to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who live in rural areas of the United States are more likely than urban residents to die prematurely from all of the five leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke.
Michelle helps implement and use high-quality telehealth technology that enables virtual consultation, examination and treatment to eliminate time and distance barriers between remote, rural patients and their providers.
“I firmly believe that each and every person, no matter where they live, what their insurance situation is or isn’t, or their physical and transportation limitations are, they deserve access to quality medical care,” says Michelle.
“I firmly believe that each and every person, no matter where they live, what their insurance situation is or isn’t, or their physical and transportation limitations are, they deserve access to quality medical care,” says Michelle Thomas
A Steward’s Heart — and a Health Care Hero
Trinity has been involved in the local community for 20 years, and takes its involvement to heart as it works with longstanding businesses, nonprofits, medical institutions, schools and universities, and the local and federal government.
To that end, it is imperative that each Trinity team member holds true to the idea of being a steward for the community as we bring technology that will help businesses and people communicate and grow. And Michelle takes that to heart through the work she does with each customer, especially when it comes to telemedicine access in rural, underserved communities.
“In the five years Michelle has worked at Trinity Dynamics, she has proven use-case experience of successes when partnering and providing the technology for in-school pediatric care in rural Kentucky,” says Barry Sawayer, founder and CEO of Trinity Dynamics. “Her tireless work has aided in an increased level of care for the children as they receive immunizations, have needed medications administered, well-care checks performed, and consults for illness and emergency care. We’re immensely proud to have Michelle as part of our family.”
Michelle was recently named a Health Care Hero by Louisville Business First for her groundbreaking work in the world of telemedicine. She says this aligns with her belief that everyone is a steward for service of others in life, putting others before ourselves and she is doing that by helping make sure rural communities aren’t missing out on access to quality medical care, when and where ever they need it.
Michelle works each and every day to make sure that no one goes without access to care — and she strives to provide access to telemedicine to rural and underinsured, rural health communities throughout Louisville and the state.
Many days, she’s on the road for hours just because she knows a visit to bring a telehealth mobile kit to a family medical center in Barbourville means patients will get care. “Often, the overwhelming cost of transportation for patients sometimes means they don’t get the important, life-saving medical care they need,” she says.
Pediatric diabetes: just one reason why telemedicine is important
To illustrate her dedication, Michelle shares the issue of pediatric diabetes, something that is significant in rural Kentucky. When kids are in school, a school nurse cannot legally administer their insulin, it must be done under the supervision of a nurse practitioner or a doctor. But that limitation means a student either has to give themselves their insulin shot or go without it during the school day — and that’s not a workable solution when it comes to a potentially life-threatening need for insulin.
Michelle says, through telemedicine, this can be done under the supervision of a telehealth medical provider using virtual capabilities, and therefore the nurse can help the student safely get their needed medications under the trained, watchful eye. “It’s incredibly important to me that I am helping provide a tool that will allow anyone, anywhere to get the medical care they need — that they deserve.”
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Click here to view the Trinity Dynamics Telemedicine brochure. Would you like to download it instead? Click here to download.
