@article{58b4142404cf43468dcedaa371f54a98,
title = "National Geriatric Network Rapidly Addresses Trainee Telehealth Needs in Response to COVID-19",
abstract = "BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has pushed many geriatric healthcare providers to attempt video visits for the first time. Although the Veterans Health Administration (VA) is a pioneer in telemedicine, rapid shifts to nearly exclusive use of telehealth for healthcare delivery and changes regarding trainee engagement in telehealth served as the impetus for rapidly assessing telehealth training needs. DESIGN: National needs assessment (online survey) of associated health trainees and medical fellows affiliated with Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Centers (GRECCs). SETTING: National GRECC network -- 20 VA centers of excellence focused on supporting Veterans as they age. Each GRECC is affiliated with a school of medicine at a major university. PARTICIPANTS: Trainees (n = 89) representing 12 disciplines. RESULTS: Two-thirds of participants had received some telehealth training. However, most had never done a video-to-home visit, and, regardless of telehealth experience, they reported low confidence. Based on open-ended questions exploring training needs, educational resources were rapidly developed and disseminated. INTERVENTION: Within 1 week of the assessment, a nuts-and-bolts guide regarding remote access, technology requirements, video-conferencing platforms, and managing emergencies was sent to the national network of GRECC associate directors for education for dissemination among discipline-specific training directors at their sites. This resource was subsequently submitted to the national VA COVID Strong Practices SharePoint site. An interdisciplinary team of geriatric specialists with extensive video-to-home experience also organized a national webinar that peaked at just over 700 participants. GRECC Connect, a network of geriatric specialty teams funded to improve care access for rural older veterans using telehealth and associated health training programs at each GRECC facilitated rapid development and dissemination of both resources. CONCLUSION: We quickly identified and responded to telehealth training needs of geriatrics trainees to optimize care for rural older adults as part of a rapid response to COVID-19. Although the webinar and nuts-and-bolts resources were developed within the VA context, they have demonstrated high demand and broader applicability. Results should continue to inform curriculum development efforts to address telehealth training gaps within and outside the VA.",
keywords = "COVID-19, GRECC, telehealth, training, video-to-home visits",
author = "Nearing, {Kathryn A.} and Lum, {Hillary D.} and Stuti Dang and Becky Powers and Jaye McLaren and Megan Gately and William Hung and Lauren Moo",
note = "Funding Information: The sponsors provided funding support for the education, training and career development efforts, as well as clinical innovation through telehealth modalities, featured as responses to COVID‐19. We thank the US Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care and the US Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health for their ongoing support of GRECC and GRECC Connect, respectively, which make possible this enhanced capacity to care for older Veterans. Funding Information: This manuscript was supported with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health to the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center Connect (GRECC Connect) national dissemination project. Funding was also provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care to support the national network of GRECCs, centers of excellence dedicated to supporting veterans as they age. Funding Information: We would like to acknowledge and thank the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) associate directors for education and evaluation for their assistance in disseminating the rapid assessment and associated resources to training directors and trainees at their respective sites. The rapid response to COVID-19 and efforts to enhance capacity to care for older adults via telehealth would not have been possible without their assistance and partnership. We would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Joe Huggins, webmaster and data analyst affiliated with the Eastern Colorado VA GRECC, who created the visual abstract (Figure 1) for this article. This manuscript was supported with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health to the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center Connect (GRECC Connect) national dissemination project. Funding was also provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care to support the national network of GRECCs, centers of excellence dedicated to supporting veterans as they age. The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article. All authors contributed significantly to this work. Conceived needs assessment effort: McLaren. Designed the trainee telehealth needs assessment: Nearing, Moo and McLaren. Substantial feedback/input: Gately, Moo and McLaren. Coordinated survey administration: Nearing and Moo. Analyzed and reported needs assessment results: Nearing. Led manuscript development: Nearing, Moo, Dang, and Powers. Created the nuts-and-bolts resource: McLaren, Gately, and Moo. Led the GRECC Connect webinar: Lum, Hung, Dang, Gately, and Moo. Led efforts to post resources to the GRECC Connect website: Hung, Lum, and Moo. The sponsors provided funding support for the education, training and career development efforts, as well as clinical innovation through telehealth modalities, featured as responses to COVID-19. We thank the US Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care and the US Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health for their ongoing support of GRECC and GRECC Connect, respectively, which make possible this enhanced capacity to care for older Veterans. Publisher Copyright: Published 2020. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.",
year = "2020",
month = sep,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1111/jgs.16704",
language = "English",
volume = "68",
pages = "1907--1912",
journal = "Journal of the American Geriatrics Society",
issn = "0002-8614",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd",
number = "9",
}