![](media/image1.jpeg){width="2.0833333333333335in"
height="0.8541666666666666in"}**NEWS RELEASE**

United States Department of Agriculture - Rural Development

World Wide Web:
[http://www.rurdev.usda.gov](http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/)

**VERMONT**

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Carolyn Lawrence

December 6, 2004 (802) 828-6002

**SENATOR JEFFORDS ANNOUNCES THE AWARD OF A \$238,250 USDA RURAL
DEVELOPMENT TELEMEDICINE GRANT TO THE RUTLAND AREA VISITING NURSE
ASSOCIATION AND HOSPICE**

Rutland, VT: Senator James Jeffords joined USDA Rural Development State
Director Jolinda H. LaClair to announce the award of a \$238,250 USDA
Rural Development Distance Learning Telemedicine Grant to the Rutland
Area Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice (RAVNAH). The celebration
took place at the RAVNAH office and was attended by Rutland Mayor
Cassarino, members of the health care industry, local representatives
and community leaders.

Senator Jeffords, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Health and
Education Committee said, "As a long-time proponent of telemedicine, I
am thrilled to see federal action translated into improving the quality
of care at the ground level. RAVNAH is to be commended for putting
technology into the hands of nurses and allowing patients to participate
in monitoring their own health by checking their blood pressure, pulse
and other conditions and sharing that information with their providers
in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I am especially excited
by the high-tech coordination between the home health nurse and the
patient's physician. This will result in a reduction in the response
time between all the providers and an increase in the quality of care."

RAVNAH has been providing home health care to the towns in Rutland
County for 55 years. Grant funds will be used to purchase technology
that will improve their ability to monitor patients' health and lessen
the time nurses spend on paperwork, freeing them to do what they do best
.... nurse. With the second oldest county-wide population in the state,
the need for expanded home health care increases at a time when fewer
and fewer people are entering the nursing profession. Clinicians with
RAVNAH travel as much as 60 miles a day. They then spend up to two hours
a day completing paperwork. Last year, the staff made 86,522 home visits
to 2,566 unduplicated patients.

"The Bush Administration is committed to supporting rural communities by
investing in technology," said LaClair. "Vermont's landscape and winter
weather can make providing home health care to our rural residents very
challenging. Using cutting-edge technology, this grant will help to
ensure that the RAVNAH caregivers are able to provide the daily
oversight necessary for so many of their patients. I am pleased that RD
is part of the answer to this very critical need."

The grant will purchase point of care electronic charting which will not
only reduce the time a care giver spends on paperwork, but will also
provide a tool for better coordination between care givers, provide
primary physicians with immediate access to patient information, and
reduce the potential for medication errors. Telemedicine units will also
be purchased, which will provide a daily record of vital signs and
changes that are not obtainable on a one or twice weekly visit.

"We are honored that we have been selected to receive this grant award,"
said Ronald J. Cioffi, RN, Executive Director of RAVNAH. "The money will
be used to fund an integrated technology project that will provide our
clinicians with state-of-the-art equipment and software so they may
better serve Rutland County's rural population."

USDA Rural Development's mission is to increase economic opportunity and
improve the quality of life in Rural America. This is done by providing
financial and technical assistance to foster growth and new
opportunities for business development, home ownership, and critical
community and technology infrastructure. The Distance Learning
Telemedicine program provides financial assistance to enhance learning
and health care opportunities for residents of rural America. To learn
more about USDA Rural Development programs visit the web site at
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/vt.