Roz King, M.S.N., RN, CNL, division chief of emergency medicine research at the University of Vermont

(JANUARY 8, 2025) Roz King, M.S.N., RN, CNL, division chief of emergency medicine research at the University of Vermont, spoke with WCAX-TV about a new $10,000 grant from the Leahy Institute For Rural Partnerships that will fund research into setting up telehealth services in rural libraries.

“We’re really looking to find any way to make any of our community members in Vermont get access to care, easier, better, quicker, so we’re wondering if telehealth might be the right answer for that, if we’re able to put it right in people’s libraries, right in their own towns,” King said.

An increase in telehealth has the potential to decrease wait times at urgent care centers and emergency rooms and for specialty and primary care appointments. For people who live far from a hospital or don’t have transportation, it’s an easy way to access care from wherever you are. “There can be these huge gaps for people to get to the treatment they need, but more often than not we’re usually all pretty close to a library,” King said.

Over the next year, the researchers will look into the project’s feasibility for privacy and contagion prevention and then pick at least two libraries to pilot the program. Your future doctor’s appointments may be just a walk down to the local library.