Telehealth to connect community-based service providers with current research

Editor's Note: Select the link to view or download a high-resolution photograph of Robin Hansen.

May 2, 2007

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — UC Davis Health System has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish a new Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, Education, Research and Service. In receiving this funding, UC Davis becomes the first university-based center established in Northern California and joins a network of 67 other centers nationwide that enhance the quality-of-life for people with disabilities. The grant will increase access for both patients and health-care providers to interdisciplinary training resources and support clinical research that enhances assessment and treatment options for children and adults with developmental disabilities. The new center will serve as a regional, state and national resource for community services and technical assistance to improve the capacity of systems of care to meet the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities.

“Resources have not kept pace with the growing population of people in our state who have developmental issues and need services in order to live full lives,” said Robin Hansen, a UC Davis Health System developmental-behavioral pediatrician and director of the new center. “This grant will help us expand training and research programs, provide support to community programs serving individuals with developmental disabilities and work with our partners to ensure that children and adults with developmental disabilities have access to a range of choices that promote their independence and community involvement.”

A major component of the grant is the use of telehealth — or distance education — as a primary method of disseminating to community-based service providers current research and clinical interventions on autism, fragile X syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, sex chromosomal anomalies and other developmental disorders. The telehealth program at UC Davis Health System has become an effective means of utilizing telecommunications and information technology to give remote and rural parts of California access to health-care specialists. The program will now be expanded to offer new information about neurodevelopment along with assessment and intervention strategies to parents, educators, psychologists, psychiatrists and physicians.

In addition to supporting technology-based professional training, the grant will expand the use of specialized software — or assistive technology — to improve communication, educational achievement and transition-to-work outcomes for students with developmental disabilities.

“We know from experiences with our existing assistive technology program that it can increase the academic and overall technical and job skills of children and young adults with developmental delays. Now, we'll be able to provide assistive technology expertise and training to many more schools and many more age levels than we previously could due to resource limitations,” said Randi Hagerman, a UC Davis Health System developmental-behavioral pediatrician who will co-direct the new center with Hansen.

In managing the center, Hansen and Hagerman will work with a multidisciplinary team representing the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, the UC Davis Center for Health and Technology, the UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities, the UC Davis School of Education, the California Institute on Human Services at Sonoma State University and the College of Education at California State University, Sacramento. A Consumer Advisory Committee representing the community of people with disabilities, service providers, and local and state government will help direct the center's priorities. The areas of emphasis for the UC Davis UCEDD will initially include assistive technology, early intervention, self-advocacy and health.

In its inaugural year, the center will receive $200,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Funding over the initial five years of support is expected to total $2 million.

UC Davis Health System is an academic medical center that includes a top-ranked school of medicine, a 577-bed acute care hospital, a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, the M.I.N.D. Institute for the study of neurodevelopmental disorders, a comprehensive children's hospital, a level 1 trauma center and outpatient clinics in communities throughout the Sacramento region. Consistently ranked among the nation's top medical schools and best hospitals, UC Davis has established itself as a national leader in telehealth, rural medicine, cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders, vascular medicine, trauma and emergency medicine, and psychiatry and behavioral sciences. For more information, visit www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu. For information about University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, Education, Research and Service throughout the nation, visit www.aucd.org.