Citizens Memorial Hospital Wins Major Telehealth Network Grant Powered by PtCT's well@home(R) Technology.

ATLANTA -- Citizens Memorial Hospital (CMH), based in Bolivar, Missouri, was awarded the Telehealth Network Grant by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide telehealth services to home-based patients. CMH, a client of Atlanta-based Patient Care Technologies (PtCT) since 2002, won the three-year grant (one of only three nationwide) totaling more than $680,000.

According to the Dept. of Health and Human Services, the Telehealth Network Grant will "provide a mechanism to evaluate cost-effective of telehomecare services." The grant enables CMH to implement its strategy to integrate telemanagement into their EMR network using PtCT's telehealth technology, well@home. CMH, in keeping with the goals of the Telehealth Network Grant, will also seek to demonstrate how this telehealth technology can improve the quality of care and clinical outcomes.

"The purpose of the grant is to place monitoring equipment in the homes of high risk patients and teach them how to send their pulse, blood sugar, electrocardiogram, respiration, oxygen intake and weight via a telephone connection," said program director Valerie Noblitt. "These patients may need constant monitoring but not hospitalization, and the new technology will give us that capability. well@home also provides disease education and instruction specific to the patient and has the ability to help patients manage medications. This will go a long way to a goal of reducing hospitalization rates and improving outcomes."

CMH Chief Information Officer Denni McColm added, "What sets our program apart from the 'run of the mill' home monitoring done by other agencies, is that information is automatically transmitted to the patient's electronic medical record where physicians will be able to actively monitor the patient conditions in real time."

well@home, released in 2004, features a compact display that integrates measurement devices that empower in-home patients to measure and report their blood pressure, weight, temperature, pulse oxygen, blood glucose and ECG. well@home also features comprehensive education and disease management programs that can be tailored to each patient's condition.

By deploying more well@home telehealth devices in the field, CMH will seek to elevate patient outcomes into the top ten percent (10%) of hospitals nationwide and reduce hospitalizations and emergent care. With over six hundred beds in the Citizens Memorial Hospital Foundation, hundreds of patients may benefit from the grant.

About Citizens Memorial Hospital (CMH)

Citizens Memorial Healthcare is a fully-integrated healthcare system devoted to exceptional patient care provided by leading physicians and caring staff. Citizens Memorial Hospital is located in Bolivar, Mo., and serves Cedar, Dade, Dallas, Hickory, northern Greene, Polk and St. Clair Counties. In addition to hospital services, CMH consists of 28 primary care and specialty care physician clinics, five long-term care facilities, one residential care facility, five independent living communities, Senior Health Center, home health, hospice, homemaker plus, health transit services, home medical equipment and rehabilitation services.

CMH was awarded the prestigious Davis Award of Excellence by the Health Information and Management Systems Society. CMH has been recognized for its innovative efforts associated with its organizational patient electronic medical record system. CMH was also named a Most Wired and Most Wireless Hospital. CMH was recently named one of the 10 largest employers in southwest Missouri.

About Patient Care Technologies, Inc. (PtCT)

Since 1991, Patient Care Technologies[R] (PtCT[R]), a privately held company based in Atlanta, Georgia, has been an innovator of home care technology. PtCT was the first to offer clinical Point of Care documentation; the first to offer a completely integrated system; and the first to develop a fully integrated telehealth product.