One of the most important — and appreciated — services Kansas University can provide across the state is improved access to medical care.

Providing high-quality health care in rural areas can be challenging. Declining populations make it difficult to attract and hold onto medical specialists in many fields. The distance to major medical centers also can pose a potentially life-threatening situation for patients in crisis.

A recent Journal-World story details a new effort by the KU Hospital to extend the hospital’s expertise in stroke and heart attack care to the rural areas of Kansas. A $12.5 million grant from the U.S. Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center allowed for the creation of the Kansas Heart and Stroke Collaborative. Teams from the new collaborative are working with 14 small medical centers in the western part of the state. All of the hospitals are smaller than Lawrence Memorial Hospital, but it would be nice to see LMH also forging stronger ties to KU Hospital.

The approach is multi-pronged. The first part is to try to head off health crises by providing education treatments and lifestyle changes that reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks. Knowing that many people wait too long before seeking medical help, the education element also includes information about what signs and symptoms warrant an emergency call.

The KU plan also includes care that follows patients back to their homes in small communities. That involves hiring care coordinators who make sure that patients take their medications properly and make and keep follow-up appointments with their doctors. The plan also envisions a system of health coaches to encourage patients to monitor their condition and increase their physical activity.

In emergency situations, intervention by a trained specialist can make a vital difference. Because those specialists aren’t available in much of rural Kansas, using technology to link to specialists in other areas is an important part of the plan. Initially, KU plans to contract with a South Dakota company to provide telemedicine services, linking small Kansas hospitals directly to emergency physicians and nurses. Eventually, if that system works well, KU Hospital hopes to set up its own emergency telemedicine links to its specialists in Kansas City.

KU plays a unique role in training doctors and other medical experts for Kansas. Much attention has been focused on training more primary care physicians who may choose to practice in underserved areas of the state. That’s an important need, but those doctors also need the support of specialists who likely aren’t available in their area. KU Hospital already provides some level telemedicine assistance to doctors across the state, but the new stroke and heart attack program is an important and life-saving addition to KU’s medical services across the state.