The North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities at Minot State University will create a high speed data network using Internet2 technology for telehealth, training, and planning to support services for North Dakotans with developmental disabilities. The proposed network will connect eight community-based service providers with each other, three health service providers, and the statewide staff training program. The ten community facilities will then serve as hubs, distributing network access to local group homes, day programs, work-sites, and administrative offices. Likewise, the three health services providers (NDCPD, Anne Carlsen Center, and Munroe-Myer Institute) will serve as hubs providing connections for clinical suites, two-way video studios, and office work stations. The central hub will use the network to originate and facilitate statewide training and planning activities .
The proposed Flatlands Disability Network will allow North Dakotans with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities to receive informed health care from professionals who have frequent contact with the needs of this special population. The network will be used to deliver psychiatric, neurological, orthopedic, and nursing services. Services in the disciplines of exercise physiology, health and wellness, nutrition, speech/language, and audiology will also be delivered over the network. Regular contact with these disciplines is essential to the well being of adults with developmental disabilities, but is often unachievable in rural North Dakota because of the scarcity of professionals with experience serving the population. The proposed Flatlands Telehealth Network will provide a dedicated, secure, HIPPAA-compliant, high-speed interactive environment to serve this population.
