Club Meeting Recap--April 25, 2016
Dr. Jonathan Neufeld,
V.P. of I.T. and Integrated Care for Oaklawn,
Addresses the Club
Visiting Rotarians were: Laurie Nofziger & Bob Schreiner
Each week, a Sergeant at Arms comes up with fun and interactive ways to draw money from the pockets of Rotarians. The funds are then pooled and disbursed annually to many area non-profit organizations. This week, Michael Cristofeno was the Sergeant at Arms and is also a Republican candidate running for Elkhart County Circuit Court judge in the 2016 primary election. Mike had everyone laughing as he tried NOT to plug his candidacy during a Rotary meeting. He came up with questions from a recent TV show called Modern Family to help extract the fines for a worthy cause. Since most of the people there that day had never seen the show, many Rotarians had to “pay up” for their lack of knowledge.
Two Elkhart Rotarians were recently honored for their service by the Red Cross. Joe Gold was given the Elkhart County Torchbearer award to his long time personal service & Mick Faloon was given the Outstanding Volunteer Service Award.
Students from Elkhart Central and Memorial High School gave their thanks and their impressions from having been visitors of the Elkhart Rotary the past few months. Laurie Weirick, Bryan Vance, Rachel Swanson & Salvador learned that Elkhart Rotary is a large group with a good strong bond who are all about helping the community and promoting good will around the world.
How many referrals currently made by area physicians are actually completed? This was the question posed by the guest speaker, Jonathan Neufeld, Phd. Jonathan is the VP of IT & Integrated Care for Oaklawn in Elkhart and St Joseph counties, Indiana. He spoke of the benefits of Telehealth Services. What are they and why are they coming? Telehealth uses telecommunication technologies to deliver health care services at home – for any aspect of care – which then provides information from clinician to clinician and delivers patient info to the doctors.
Telemedicine actually started back in the 1950’s with televised surgical and medical procedures. Tele-diagnosis a new community health resource using live two-way television can now do many things that formerly could only be done in person. Why then does telehealth work?
- Most health care is SELF-CARE.
- Most health care is INFORMATION EXCHANGE.
- Most tracking (hands on) is done by support staff
- Establishing and maintaining a good working relationship is the key to success.
People today have more critical and chronic diseases than in years past. Getting initial primary care is critical for more efficient health care. Fifty to ninety percent of health care happens in YOUR HOME. Self-care equals behavior change – a patient takes their pills and does what the doctor says and health improves. Dr. Neufeld said that studies have shown you get better at the same rate whether you see a doctor in person or you see a doctor over video. There were no differences in outcomes when people saw the doctor in person.
Telehealth bridges and helps build the relationship between the client and the doctor. The answer to the question “How many referrals currently made by area physicians are actually completed?” Dr. Neufeld said “less than 10% of people referred to mental health clinicians actually go to get help for anxiety and depression. Of those who do go, more than 70% receive help that “sticks”.” It’s a new day – a new age! Get ready for a new way of doctor/client visits -- changes are coming!
Up Coming Program(s) & Activities:
May 9th – Astronomer from Adler Planetarium
May 14th - Volunteer Day at Wellfield Botanic Gardens