(Taken from application abstract): Northwoods HealthNet, sponsored by the Northern Wisconsin Area Health Education Center (NAHEC), is an innovative response to the information access concerns of rural Northern Wisconsin health professionals and students. This project would fund the key technological systems required to develop and support our mission during the critical stages beyond the initial phases of planning and educational programming. As a cooperative organization of 27 public and private health care and educational institutions organizations serving nine rural counties, we need equal access to technology, along with appropriate information systems to make our network work. Members have identified this area of Wisconsin as """"""""Information Starved."""""""" The nine initial rural target counties serve a total population of 203,712 including 4,840 Native Americans. Participating members include NAHEC, nine hospitals, two clinics, six county public health departments, five academic institutions, and four native American organizations. In the second and third years, the project will expand to include additional under served/unaffiliated organizations, including additional rural counties, long term care facilities, and Native American clinics in the NAHEC region. This project will provide the hardware, software, support systems, education, and personnel required to: . Develop and implement information systems to provide timely access to health information resources at the local point of need, including Internet access and Internet Grateful Med. . Develop and implement cooperative mechanisms for the sharing of information resources by members of the cooperative. . Provide the education and training that facilitates access to health related resources.
