Contact: Susan Barber Lindquist, 715-838-3012 or
BarberLindquist.susan@mayo.edu
Federal stimulus grants enhance broadband communications to serve patients
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Fiber optic cable lines run underground, unseen. Yet 200 miles of fiber-optic cable — made possible recently by $11.5 million in federal grant money — will revolutionize high-capacity Internet access in the Chippewa Valley.
The expansion of broadband communication will allow high-speed exchange of critical information among key community institutions — government, public safety, health care, libraries, schools and more This networking infrastructure particularly will help underserved rural areas, improving access to life-saving treatment for patients.
The Chippewa Valley health systems that partnered together to acquire the grants are:
• Luther Midelfort – Mayo Health System, including its hospitals and clinics in Eau Claire as well as in the Barron, Bloomer and Osseo areas
• Hospital Sisters Health System Division (Western Wisconsin), which includes Sacred Heart Hospital (Eau Claire) and St. Joseph’s Hospital (Chippewa Falls)
Luther Midelfort and Hospital Sisters Health System each pledged $600,000, paid over three years, to the broadband project. Together, by investing a total of $1.2 million in matching funds, these health care systems will leverage about $3.6 million in federal dollars to accelerate this networking infrastructure expansion across western Wisconsin.
Dr. Randall Linton, president/CEO
“This effort will enhance life-saving treatment and the health and wellness of residents in rural areas through telemedicine and by enabling the high-speed exchange of critical emergency medical information,” said Dr. Randall Linton, president and chief executive office of Luther Midelfort. “But this project goes beyond health care. By working with education and government entities, we can enhance the well-being of communities and do more together than any one entity could do alone.”
“Many educational programs and critical life-saving health care applications today cannot work on anything less than ultra high-speed broadband,” said Steve Ronstrom, president and chief executive officer of HSHS Division (Western Wisconsin). “This project will save lives by improving public safety, EMS and health care service delivery and disaster preparedness.”
The two health care organizations are part of the Chippewa Valley Inter-networking Consortium (CINC), which is leading the broadband expansion project locally. CINC formed in 1999 to coordinate regional communication infrastructure projects with city, county and state governments, educational institutions, libraries, non-profits and technology providers. CINC is committed to broadband serving the public interest.
The project also will improve the Chippewa Valley’s fiber-optic access to Superior, Menomonie, Mondovi, Wausau, Marshfield and Stevens Point.
The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program grants, part of $32.3 million awarded to Wisconsin under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, were announced August 18 by the University of Wisconsin Extension, which led the statewide project.
Work on the fiber-optic lines will begin this year and is expected to be completed within three years.
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