Nicholson Grant Expands Telehealth Offerings for Vulnerable Populations

The Nicholson Foundation has awarded a grant of $1,592,002 to Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) to launch a comprehensive telehealth strategy with the goal to improve healthcare in New Jersey. The strategy encompasses Project ECHO, eConsults, and telemedicine as distinct but complementary services under the umbrella of telehealth.

• Project ECHO is an evidenced-based model of collaborative, case-based learning between an interdisciplinary team of specialists and community-based primary care providers (PCP), expanding their ability to meet the need for specialty care within their practices. The Nicholson Foundation previously funded the establishment of New Jersey’s Project ECHO Hub at RWJMS, which has run three ECHO clinics based on specific medical issues. The new grant will support the operation of a fourth clinic with a focus on Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and Substance-Exposed Infants.
• eConsults are asynchronous, non-face-to-face consultations between a PCP and specialist using a secure electronic communication platform, additionally supported by non-urgent specialist referrals. Like Project ECHO, eConsults expand access to specialty care for NJ’s Medicaid population.
• Telemedicine links patients directly to providers through real-time video-conferencing.

By offering a spectrum of telehealth strategies through one medical school, the programs hope to increase sustainability through cost-effective resource sharing. The programs will work synergistically to help increase access to care for at-risk populations.

Learn more:

Rutgers RWJMS Project ECHO