UofL Trager Institute Addresses Health Disparities Through Project ECHO

Rural communities represent 41 percent of Kentucky’spopulation, and yet only 17 percent of the state’s primary care physicians workin rural areas. In addition, with only 15 geriatric medicine specialistsserving the Commonwealth, older adults living in rural communities mayexperience difficulty finding providers trained in best-practices for thegeriatric population.

The University of Louisville (UofL) Trager Institute is working to expand the size of the geriatrics workforce by launching a series of short education enrichment tracks, known as Project ECHO - Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes. This program provides virtual learning opportunities on topics ranging from compassionate care of older adults with dementia to age-friendly hospitals.

Project ECHO is a tele-mentoring movement dedicated tosharing knowledge and amplifying the capacity of health care professionals toprovide best-practice care for the medically underserved. Launched in 2003 atthe University of New Mexico, Project ECHO originally was designed to teachphysicians in rural New Mexico specialized hepatitis C treatment. Today, thereare more than 220 Project ECHO hubs in 31 countries, treating more than 100diseases and conditions.

Recognizing a need for increased specialists, particularlyin rural communities, Project ECHO utilizes a low-bandwidth teleconferencingplatform to create hub-and-spoke knowledge-sharing networks. By creatingdigital learning communities and connecting hubs of experts with practitionersin rural communities, Project ECHO improves treatment by moving informationinstead of people.

Each of the UofL Trager Institute’s Project ECHO educationtracks focuses on specialized skills to empower partners to improve the qualityof life of adults ages 50-plus. The tracks include the following topics: careof older adults, compassionate care for persons with Alzheimer’s Disease andrelated dementias, opioid use disorder and alternate pain management strategiesin older adults, hospice and palliative care connection, and age-friendlyhospitals.

Continuing educationsoon will be offered through several tracks.