By David Gordon, associate editor
Many obstacles remain to be overcome in efforts to extend broadband Internet access throughout Wisconsin, according to a panel of people involved with this issue.
The panelists spoke to some 30 people Thursday noon at the Holiday Inn South in Eau Claire. The luncheon program was organized by WisPolitics.com and sponsored by Health Tradition, the health insurance partner of the Mayo Clinic Health System (MCHS).
The program was billed as one on the topic of “Enhancing Telemedicine Through Better Broadband,” but much of the discussion focused on the benefits of extending broadband access to the 20% or so of the state’s residents now without it. Those benefits would include enhanced options for telemedicine – the ability to meet online with health care professionals.
Most of the problems come down to the cost of extending highspeed fiber-optic networks to people living in sparsely populated areas. Those costs come to some $30,000 per mile and $500 per home connection, according to Scott Hoffman, CEO of WIN Technology whose Wisconsin Independent Network is a leader in the field.
Subsidies may be needed
State Rep. Romaine Quinn (R-Barron) said that subsidies may be necessary to persuade providers to extend their fiber networks to serve “the last mile.” Quinn, who chairs the Assembly Committee on Science and Technology, has led efforts to expand broadband access to the state’s rural areas.
He was first elected to the Assembly in 2014, after earlier winning election as mayor of Rice Lake at the age of 19.
Pamela Guthman, a clinical assistant professor in UW-Eau Claire’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences, said that “we have an ethical and moral obligation” to address these problems. This drew agreement from Dr. Dave Blair, Northwest Wisconsin Regional Medical Information Officer for MCHS.
Guthman, who previously was the CEO of the Indianhead Community Action Agency, has spent more than 35 years in the rural nursing field. She noted that young employees are more likely to remain in rural health care if they see they are making an impact.
More psychologists needed
Blair noted the need for more psychologists to serve the area’s population, especially its younger members.
“Our kids are hurting and (they) will become adults who are hurting” unless this shortage is addressed, he warned.
Quinn said that northern Wisconsin residents need to make funding for health programs part of “consistent conversations” with their state legislators.
“If you make it a topic, government will respond at some point,” he said.
Hoffman cautioned that even if access to broadband connections becomes universal, the key to using it to deliver telemedicine will be “easy to use technology” in the home, especially for elders.
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