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  • Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center

    NRTRC
    logo for the Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center
    Title and image from Navigating the Telehealth Neighborhood training series; image of city blocks from overhead with two Wi-Fi points marked.

    The NRTRC is excited to share some updates from the Navigating the Telehealth Neighborhood training series!

    Our initial course has been updated and renamed A Guide to Telehealth Basics and Virtual Appointments for Digital Navigators (previously A Guide to Telehealth for Digital Navigators). This refreshed version offers updates on the fundamentals of telehealth and how digital navigators and others can assist patients, learners, or loved ones with virtual care access and prepping for a telehealth appointment.

    New Course To Be Released in May!

    We’re thrilled to announce that a new course—Patient Portal Training for Digital Navigators—will launch in May 2025! This course, developed using feedback from the first course and input from providers and patients, will help digital navigators guide users through the essentials of patient portals, from account setup and key features to overcoming common challenges and encouraging confident health management online.

    Stay tuned for the release announcement, and in the meantime, we encourage you to explore the updated telehealth basics course!

    News

    Strengthen Your Telehealth/Telestroke Skills

    Learn how you can expand and maintain your telehealth/telestroke skills through a new American Heart Association certification for individual healthcare professionals.

    These certifications offer a framework for evaluating professionals interested in assessing their knowledge and experience in telehealth stroke principles and care delivery. Certification validates that an individual has followed the American Heart Association’s rigorous, science-backed requirements. Coursework included in the bundle awards accredited CE units.

    Take Your Grant-Writing Skills to the Next Level With a New On-Demand Course 

    The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) has a Grant Writing Institute to help you seek and obtain funding to support your mission. Their course “Beyond the Basics, On Demand” helps rural grant seekers and program managers refine their skills and maximize funding opportunities. This virtual, self-paced training goes beyond the fundamentals, providing targeted strategies to strengthen grant applications, build funding relationships, and ensure long-term program sustainability. 

    The five-session course will deliver the following insights: 

    • Strengthening community collaboration to meet local needs 
    • Analyzing funding trends to secure grants 
    • Enhancing accountability in grant-seeking and management 
    • Developing long-term strategies to sustain programs beyond grant funding 

     

    Elevate your grantsmanshipLearn more & enroll here

    See NRTRC at ATA Nexus 2025! 

    Planning to attend ATA Nexus 2025? Be sure to catch Jaleen Johnson, Program Manager from NRTRC, in action throughout the conference!

    • Saturday May 3, 3 p.m.Digital Care Essentials Bootcamp: Implementing Today's Strategies for Seamless Virtual Care
    • Monday, May 5, 7:30 a.m.Digital Transformation Special Interest Group (SIG) Breakfast
    • Monday, May 5, 12:05 p.m.Digital Transformation SIG Showcase
    • Monday, May 5, 3 p.m.Digital Transformation SIG Meeting
    • Tuesday, May 6, 2 p.m.Enhancing Suicide Risk Management Training with Virtual Reality: Scalable Solutions for Underserved Populations

    Don’t forget to visit the ATA Hub to connect with NRTRC and other telehealth resource centers (TRCs) from across the U.S. Build partnerships and learn how TRCs can support your telehealth journey.

    🎟️ Register now and save! Use code NRTRC to save $300 on ATA Nexus registration.

    Regional News

    NRTRC Board Member Highlight: Dr. Kanan Silvas of Idaho

    Portrait of Dr. Kanan Silvas

    Dr. Kanan Silvas currently serves as the medical director for the Kootenai Health telehealth and transfer center in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, his hometown. He earned his medical degree through the University of Washington School of Medicine WWAMI program, which supports the training of doctors in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. In that program, Dr. Silvas saw firsthand the need for expanded access to healthcare in rural areas.

    Dr. Silvas is a strong proponent of telehealth services and knows what a powerful tool it is in helping serve patients outside of larger metropolitan areas. Connecting patients and physicians virtually removes barriers such as travel time and expense, thereby increasing the likelihood that patients will seek treatment sooner, which leads to better outcomes.

    Dr. Silvas is an advocate for expanding innovative telehealth solutions to help streamline and expand treatment options that benefit patients, physicians, and the communities in which they live and work.

    Events to Bookmark in 2025

    May

    52nd Annual 2025 National Association for Rural Mental Health Conference

    May 1–3

    Anchorage, AK

    Organizer: National Association for Rural Mental Health

    The 2025 National Association for Rural Mental Health (NARMH) Annual Conference will be held in person at the Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage, AK, on Thursday, May 1–Saturday, May 3, 2025.

    This year’s theme is “Stronger Together: Weaving Cultural Diversity and Strengths to Support Mental Well-Being.” The event will highlight speakers and workshops focused on rural policy, clinical practice, and effective leadership. Attendees will also hear about the resilient and innovative strategies and solutions speakers have employed in their communities over the last several years.

    Join us as we convene to share insights, learn from one another, and discuss the future of rural mental health services.

    ATA Nexus 2025

    May 3–6

    New Orleans, LA

    Organizer: American Telemedicine Association

    Nexus 2025 will convene leading healthcare delivery organizations and the solution providers that support them, government agencies, payors, and other stakeholders to share critical insights and build action plans that enable virtual care as an indispensable care modality and permanent part of healthcare delivery. Nexus 2025 is where the future of healthcare is being built.

    Our story above"See NRTRC at ATA Nexus 2025!"offers you a code that will give you a $300 discount on the conference fee!

    Bridging the Gap—Connecting Healthcare and Communities for Wellness

    May 6–May 8

    Casper, WY

    Organizer: Wyoming 211

    What to expect: 

    • CommUNITY—Coming together 
    • Community Resource Building 
    • SDOH Education Topics

    TeleBehavioral Health 2025: Utilizing Telehealth, a Brief Treatment Model, and the Wellness Approach to Provide Culturally Informed Services to Alaska Native and American Indian Adults

    May 16 @ 12 p.m.1 p.m.

    Organizer: University of Washington Behavioral Health Institute

    The Behavioral Health Wellness Clinic (BHWC) at ANTHC provides culturally responsive telehealth services for Alaska Native and American Indian adults. This session explores BHWC’s journey to becoming a trusted resource, forging partnerships, and increasing service utilization by integrating cultural values into care. Learn how this approach fosters resilience, empowerment, and intergenerational wellness.

    Forum on Rural Population Health & Health Equity

    May 19–21

    Seaside, OR

    Organizer: Oregon Office of Rural Health

    This forum aims to strengthen community health in rural Oregon by gathering experts, leaders, and practitioners to share best practices, emerging models and strategies, resources, case studies, and innovations focused on enhancing community health from an array of perspectives. 

    The forum welcomes attendees from across the healthcare continuum, including healthcare workers and administrators, coordinated care organizations, community-based organizations, local and state officials, local leaders, policymakers, public health officials, and anyone invested in promoting rural community health.

    The forum will be held in person at the Seaside Civic & Convention Center in Seaside, Oregon.

    June

    TeleBehavioral Health 2025: Suicide Risk Assessment and Management in the Age of Telehealth

    Jun 20, 2025 @ 12 p.m.1 p.m.

    Organizer: University of Washington Behavioral Health Institute

    In this session, Dr. Kate Comtois, PhD reviews how clinicians using telebehavioral health can assess suicide risk and offers further techniques on health risk assessment and management.

    Do You Provide Healthcare or Services via Telehealth? 

    Map of the western United States with the words "Enroll your TAP today!"

    NRTRC's Find Telehealth is available to help patients and providers find

    in-person and telehealth care along with locations to have telehealth visits.

    Turn on the map's TAPs button to view sites. 

    Click Here to Update Information on Your Practice

    Click Here to Add a TAP

    Mountain and trees reflected in a lake.

    Northwest Regional State Telehealth Websites

    Telehealth Resources

    Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center

    This publication was made possible by grant number UiUTH42531-01 from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, Health Resources and Services Administration, DHHS

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