Gigabit Nation

Telehealth is important for monitoring coronavirus patients' condition while minimizing healthcare workers' exposure to the disease. But today's show discusses the greater value of using telehealth to offload a sizeable share of non-COVID-19 patients from hospitals and doctors: accidentsmental health treatmentstraumas - strokes & heart attacks  post-surgery monitoringelderly care COVID-19 also exposed the faultlines that is inherent in this country's broadband infrastructure. It has made networks groan under the stress of quickly shifting business, schools, and healthcare data to homes. What's the short- and long-term impact of this shift, especially as it pertains to telehealth? Kim Almkuist, the nurse practitioner overseeing telehealth initialives for the Wilson County [NC] Department of Health, describes how telehealth is improving healthcare. She also explains potential impacts on home healthcare of the feds relaxing restrictions on telehealth. Almkuist has the Wilson Greenlight public broadband nerw