Cotton County, Oklahoma is now part of the Lawton, Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Designated by the Office of Management & Budget, MSAs contain an urban core area population of 50,000. Each MSA consists of one or more counties containing the core urban area, as well as any adjacent counties that have a high degree of social and economic integration with the urban core. View a map of the MSAs in Oklahoma.

 

The Oklahoma Office of Rural Health (OORH) and the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality (OFMQ) will host a series of FREE rural health information technology (HIT) workshops across the state. The half-day workshops will focus on the optimization of data attestation and extraction processes to successfully reach Meaningful Use and pass HIPAA audits. The workshops will be held in Enid (July 9), Lawton (July 23), and Okmulgee (August 6) and are free for healthcare providers, critical access hospital staff and rural hospital staff. For additional information about the workshops, including a detailed agenda and registration information, visit OFMQ's website.

 

Once again, the OORH is partnering with CALS Rural Emergency Medical Education to offer comprehensive, hands-on advanced life support education for rural providers and emergency medical services who find themselves in situations with limited tools and resources available to preserve life. Please email or call Rod Hargrave (405.840.6506) for more information about CALS training and to register for the next course scheduled for August 14 & 15, 2013 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hurry! Spots are filling up quickly!

Gerald (Gerald's name has been changed to protect his identity) was at the annual county-wide celebration and festival in his rural Oklahoma hometown. He had not showered in over a week and had been wearing the same clothes for several days. Walking through the festival, Gerald noticed some people entering and leaving the large orange and black bus. Emblazoned on the side of the bus was an image of Pistol Pete wearing a white doctor's coat and the words "Oklahoma State University Medicine."

 

Hoping to find some food, soap, or other items that he could use, Gerald boarded the bus. When he entered and looked around, he was surprised to see what looked like a doctor's office. There was a waiting room with a TV playing cartoons, multiple treatment areas, and monitors displaying an image of a doctor. He was approached by a person on the bus wearing a white lab coat who asked him his name. Gerald thought she was going to ask him to leave. Instead, she kindly asked his name and if he ever visited the OSU Mobile Telemedicine (MTC).

 

Gerald didn't know what to think. People were usually not friendly to him. He told her that it was his first time to see the MTC. She then asked if he'd like to say "Hi" to an OSU medical resident. To Gerald's surprise, the image of the doctor on the monitor said hello and called him by his name. Gerald recognized that the doctor was not just a static image; rather, the doctor was able to interact with him.

 

After a few minutes of talking with the OSU medical resident, having the resident listen to his heartbeat through an electronic stethoscope and look inside his ears and throat just like he was in a doctor's office, Gerald started to exit the MTC. On his way out, the person wearing the white lab coat started talking with him. She asked if there was anything else that he needed. Gerald knew that he was stumbling a bit. His speech was slurred, and suspected she knew he had been drinking but he never thought anyone would care enough to ask.

 

As they talked, she gathered some pamphlets and flyers on healthcare resources. She handed Gerald the documents and he suddenly began to cry. He told her that he was homeless, an alcoholic, and that he could not read. This person in the lab coat did not seem to be bothered by his words. She asked if he had access to a telephone. After telling her that he did, she pointed out a few telephone numbers on the documents and told him that there were people who wanted to help if he would just give them a call.

 

A year later at the same festival, Gerald walked back into the bus with that picture of Pistol Pete wearing a doctor's coat across the side. He saw the same person in the white lab coat from a year earlier. Gerald approached her and gave a hug. She immediately recognized him, but he was different. Gerald explained that he called the numbers on the papers she had given to him. He had received help that he desperately needed. He had been attending Alcoholics Anonymous and had gone over 5 months without a drink. His sobriety led to a job at a local diner and he was no longer homeless. Her compassion and simple act of kindness helped turn his life around.

 

The image of Pistol Pete on the side of the MTC is more than just an image. To Gerald, it is hope, and it represents the help and care that he received and so desperately needed.

Responsible for the rural medical education at OSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine, the OSU Center for Rural Health oversees the rural rotations of third & fourth year medical students. The Center also funds programs aimed at providing Oklahoma's rural practitioners, hospitals, and clinics the support necessary to ensure access to quality healthcare for our state's rural residents. For more information please visit our website.