Special rooms in the Atoka, Broken Bow, Hinton and Okemah libraries are being used for telehealth to improve people’s access to healthcare providers.
The telehealth spaces or booths are a project through the Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Economics.
Rural residents face barriers when accessing health care like traveling longer distances and health care provider shortages, according to the Rural Health Information Hub. They might also not have reliable internet, which they can access at a library.
Brian Whitacre, a rural economic development OSU extension specialist and Oklahoma Broadband Council Member, said in a press release the telehealth booths and rooms provide more access to rural residents.
“A person can visit their local library and connect with a specialist that they might otherwise have had to wait months or drive hours to see,” Whitacre said. “Now, the appointment is a short trip to the library. It’s cool to work with great community partners on this project.”
Whitacre helped get grant money to build the spaces and led a team of extension specialists who trained library officials about telehealth systems.
They helped install large wheelchair accessible Talk Box studio booths that can hold two people in Okemah, Atoka and Hinton. In Broken Bow, the space is about the size of a phone booth. All of the spaces are sound proof, have UV sanitation and lights.
The Okemah Public Library’s telehealth booth opened almost one year ago and people can use it for mental health appointments, prescription refill consultations and wellness checks like blood pressure readings.
Sherri Blake, manager of the Broken Bow Public Library, said in the press release people like the access to the technology and avoiding a long drive to a healthcare facility.
“We’re hoping we can get older people more comfortable with using it,” Blake said. “We provide digital assistance so that’s not a barrier for them, and we assure people they have privacy. People worry if they’re going to be heard, but it’s a soundproof booth, and we also have sound machines.”
According to the press release, other libraries in Sulphur and Tishomingo made telehealth rooms using grant money from AARP Oklahoma.
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