Imus Named Telehealth Ninja at the South Central Telehealth Forum

Sept. 7, 2016 | Sept. 7, 2016 | Terri Imus, R.N., B.S.N., trauma telemedicine coordinator at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) was presented with the Adam D. Rule Telehealth Ninja Award at the fourth annual South Central Telehealth Forum, held Aug. 1-2 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Imus has been involved with telehealth since the development of the Center for Distance Health at UAMS. She has been instrumental in the development of the statewide telemedicine stroke program AR SAVES. Currently, she works with the Trauma Image Repository and the Hand and Burn Trauma telemedicine programs. She is also serving a second term on the Arkansas State Board of Nursing.

The Adam D. Rule Telehealth Ninja Award is presented to someone who masters the system around them to provide medical attention to those in need, encourages legislation and promotes telehealth within the American medical system. The award is named after the late Adam D. Rule who served as the first director of the South Central Telehealth Resource Center.

Imus said, “I have a passion for the people who live in rural Arkansas. Their access to quality health care is important to me. I also worked with Adam. I saw his excitement, and I loved his innovative thinking. It means so much to have Adam’s name on this award.”

Charles H. “Chip” Templeton and the late Terry Eagleton each were honored with the Curtis L. Lowery Telehealth Champion Award at the Telehealth Forum. Templeton is the former telehealth education manager at the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service and the director of the Small Business Development Center in the College of Business at MSU.  Eagleton was the telemedicine manager at Maury Regional Medical Center in Columbia, Tennessee and an SCTRC Advisory Board member. Before working at Maury Regional, he served as telehealth director for the Tennessee Primary Care Association.

The forum, sponsored by the South Central Telehealth Resource Center, provided telehealth media and education for Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. The resource center is part of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Center for Distance Health.

The resource center functions primarily through a website, LearnTelehealth.org, which works in partnership with the UAMS Center for Distance Health’s Training Center. It focuses on telehealth education and peer interactions online. It also conducts hands-on training in its training center or on site. The project is funded by the federal Health Resource Services Administration Office for the Advancement of Telehealth through the Telehealth Resource Center grant program.