Volume 18, No. 2, Spring 2010
In Washington, senators, congressmen, lobbyists and the President were just in the opening rounds of a healthcare insurance revolution.
Here on the Cape, on March 12, Governor Deval Patrick, legislators and healthcare providers were hailing a smaller scale but no less revolutionary development that among other aspects will play a major role in expediting healthcare access and information in this region.
This is particularly relevant on the Cape, where the network of healthcare providers stretches along miles of highway.
The announcement of the OpenCape project provided details of a $40 million broadband wireless network that eventually will spread 350 miles from Providence to Boston.
The Cape Cod and Islands portion will connect over 70 anchor institutions, one of which is the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands in Sandwich, which hosted the ceremony.
The project will receive $32 million in federal stimulus funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), $5 million from the Commonwealth, $2 million from RCN Metro Optical Networks, which will build the project, and $1 million from Barnstable County.
Governor Patrick, who arrived a bit late blaming “that darn bridge!” declared, “We’re putting something together of value for the next 50 years” and added it would be worth 200 construction jobs “that we need here on the Cape.”
The medical value of this network was stressed by most of the speakers. “All healthcare providers will be able to share information. It will cut costs, eliminate duplication of tests and increase capacity (for treating patients),” said John Campbell Chief Information Officer of RHCI and its parent Spaulding Rehabilitation Network.
“OpenCape exemplifies the notion that a small group of committed people truly can change the world, or at least this beautiful piece of it,” said Carol Sim, RHCI’s President/CEO.
Noting that the Cape is presently underserved in its broadband capacity, Ms. Sim called OpenCape “a significant leap forward because it will bring our community the infrastructure to achieve important patient safety goals, such as universal access to the patient’s electronic medical record. Whether the patient is in the emergency room, receiving outpatient services, in the physician's office, or at home the healthcare team will have access to vital information [such as allergies and current medications] in the patient's record.”
In addition to RHCI, other anchor institutions participating in the OpenCape project include area hospitals, emergency services, schools and universities, towns and municipalities. Anchor institutions will be directly plugged into the network because of their critical roles within the community. RHCI will continue to play an integral advisory role on the implementation for the healthcare industry of the region.
On the healthcare front, this increased broadband capacity will:
Mr. Campbell pointed out that this electronic sharing was part of the Administration’s national healthcare reform agenda.
OpenCape has public safety implications as well. “It will preserve communications and patient data during disasters so we will not have to endure what New Orleans endured after Hurricane Katrina, when hospitals had no access to vital medical information,” Mr. Campbell added.
And, finally, the network’s regional data center will be able to provide the technological capacity for business development from the South Coast to the tip of Cape Cod.