[1st-mile-nm] New ABQ-Based Pilot Program Will Improve Health Care Communications in Rural Native Communities

[Richard Lowenberg]

For Immediate Release:
September 29, 2010



Udall, Genachowski: New ABQ-Based Pilot Program Will Improve Health  
Care Communications in Rural Native Communities

2,000 Donated Cell Phones will Connect Patients with Providers


WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Federal Communications  
Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski today unveiled a new  
Albuquerque-based pilot program that will supply up to 2,000 satellite  
phones to the Indian Health Service (IHS) to improve communications  
between rural Native Americans and their health care providers.

The pilot project will initially be based in the Albuquerque area  
office of IHS, which serves tribal communities in New Mexico, Colorado  
and Texas.  The satellite phones will be donated by Reston, Va.-based  
broadband company LightSquared, which also will provide service free  
of charge through 2020.

Udall, a member of both the Senate Commerce Committee and Indian  
Affairs Committee, drew attention to the appalling lack of reliable  
telephone service on Tribal lands last year in a letter to  
Genachowski. In that letter, Udall noted that not having access to a  
landline or cell phone reception can often mean the difference between  
life and death, and recalled the heartbreaking story of a man outside  
of Gallup, New Mexico, who missed two opportunities for a life-saving  
kidney transplant because he lacked telephone service at home and  
could not be contacted in time.

As a result of that letter, the offices of Udall and Genachowski  
worked together to develop the pilot project and to secure  
LightSquared’s participation.

“Most Americans probably cannot imagine life without a telephone. Yet  
today, more than 30 percent of households in Indian Country do not  
have access to basic telephone service,” Udall said. “I am pleased to  
join LightSquared and Chairman Genachowski for this exciting  
announcement. By providing these satellite phones to IHS, we help  
improve access to health care for Tribal communities currently without  
telephone service. The bottom line is, this pilot project will help  
save lives.”

“It’s unacceptable that Native communities are significantly less  
connected than any other segment of the population,” said Genachowski.  
“The National Broadband Plan recognized the need for the FCC,  
Congress, and other key stakeholders to work directly with Tribal  
governments to promote Tribal connectivity. This pilot program is an  
important step forward. I applaud LightSquared for the generous  
donation of devices and services that will bring 21st Century mobile  
health to hospitals, health centers, and field clinics in Native  
communities.”

At the suggestion of Udall, the FCC – under the direction of  
Genachowski – recently established an Office of Native Affairs and  
Policy, which will work to promote the deployment and adoption of  
communications services and technologies throughout Tribal Lands and  
Native communities. This includes, among other things, ensuring robust  
government-to-government consultation with Tribal governments and  
increased coordination with Native organizations.

#######################

------------------------------------------------------------
Richard Lowenberg
P. O. Box 8001,  Santa Fe, NM  87504
505-989-9110 off.; 505-603-5200 cell
------------------------------------------------------------




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/1st-mile-nm/attachments/20100929/95561e1d/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 10536 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/1st-mile-nm/attachments/20100929/95561e1d/attachment.jpg>