Hess Memorial Hospital Inc. is a community owned organization located in rural south central Wisconsin. Hess Memorial Hospital Inc.?s Internet Connection for Health Institutions Grant proposes to install gateway equipment to connect the hospital?s existing Local Area Network to the Internet in order to provide high-speed Internet access and e-mail communications to the hospital and outreach facilities. Actions proposed in this grant have three specific goals: 1. Provide rural physicians, mid-level practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, allied health professionals and administrative personnel at Hess Memorial Hospital Inc. with high-speed access to Internet-based information and library resources. 2. Establish secure electronic mail services for Hess Memorial Hospital Inc. and improve and expand the availability of e-mail communications with remote resources such as state and federal agencies, universities and other sources of biomedical information. 3. Train and educate health professionals in clinical information seeking skills using Internet-based information and communication resources, such as National Library of Medicine (NLM) databases and e-mail, thus empowering them with state-of-the-art technology in support of patient care. To accomplish these goals, grant funds will be used to purchase and install gateway hardware and software, and technical support to Internet users at the outset of the project and on an ongoing basis. Institution-wide Internet access is a part of Hess Memorial Hospital Inc.?s long-term strategic goals. Hess Memorial Hospital Inc. is committed to assuming all ongoing costs of managing the proposed Internet connection beyond the grant year.
