ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150049
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
Lately, Henry Smith's co-workers have begun to comment on his resemblance to Phil Donahue.
There are similarities: both are silver-haired and conduct video-broadcast discussions with people who have mental difficulties.
Yet Smith has a much more serious program. He's administrating the Southwest Virginia Telepsychiatry Project, a couch of the airways that interactively links patients and physicians even though they're miles apart.
The New River Valley Community Services Board, one of three agencies cooperatively running the show, gave a demonstration of the yearlong effort Thursday from a ministudio set up at the board's Mental Health Services office here. Counselors from two counties in far Southwest Virginia chatted on screen with colleagues in Radford.
Funded by a three-year federal grant, this futuristic system tracks in- and out-patients of Southwestern State Mental Hospital in Marion. It allows doctors and counselors to keep track of patients and enhance the quality and continuity of care in the process.
"We have all become a real team now," said Smith, director of the Cumberland Mountain Mental Health Services Unit, as he sat in his office in Tazewell County and appeared on-screen in Radford. "All the players are now connected for the first time."
Often, the doctors in the hospital are not the same people as the doctors in the community, Smith said. A change in caregivers can negatively affect recovery, particularly when medications are involved.
In rural areas, with fewer services and wider spaces, the challenges of maintaining a responsive health care network are far greater, said Dr. Harvey Barker, local mental health services director.
That's why the federal grant targeted this corner of Virginia, beginning two years ago in the coalfields and expanding last year to the New River Valley.
Presently there are 65 clients, who "see" doctors and counselors from afar, for prescheduled or emergency consults. Barker said two-way visual contact particularly helps physicians monitor mental patients' needs and the effectiveness of medications.
Also, the system is being used to bring reinforcements into the treatment picture. Friends and family can communicate with patients at Southwestern State by video; health care providers can conduct televised group sessions after the patient has returned home.
A touch board and stylus allow the system to be manipulated in various ways - volume and zoom, for example. Also one of the dual screens can he converted to a computer, which can be simultaneously accessed by all parties.
Staff training and consultation are also enhanced by the telepsychiatry system, linking professionals readily without costly travel time.
"We have great connectivity," Smith said. "Before, so much of the process was fragmented."
Teleconferencing is a growing technique in business and education, and Barker said "telemedicine" is catching on, too, although primarily among larger research hospitals in urban areas.
Joe Stallings, a regional supervisor for Virginia's Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse, said the state is avidly watching the telepsychiatry project, as are institutions such as the University of Virginia's rural mental health project.
"There are a lot of potentials here," Stallings said.
Smith said the program, which has cost about $550,000 thus far, likely will be funded for another year at around $300,000, even though congressional budget uncertainties cloud the picture somewhat.
Beyond that, the program's short-term future is in doubt. The high-tech video equipment is expensive, although officials say operating costs have been fairly low since the system went on line.
Whether or not this telepsychiatry program continues doesn't dim the enthusiasm of the professionals who have utilized the tool.
"This is like PCs were five years ago. In a few years, this is going to be commonplace," Smith said.
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. 1. As a mother of a mentally ill son,by CNBLori Mick (left foreground) shares her experiences with family
members in similar circumstances from Clintwood (left monitor). 2.
Lucy McCandlish, coordinator of adult and family services of the New
River Valley Community Services Board (right), helps with the
operation of the equipment. color.