CHARLESTON, W.Va. –
Soldiers and Airmen with the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) are helping expand emergency broadband communication capabilities in the Mountain State by deploying equipment and training with those on the front lines of telemedicine amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A communications/signal team from the WVNG Joint Forces Headquarters recently worked in Wharton and Hundred testing communication capabilities with Guard equipment and assets for the telemedicine initiative. Using a small portable satellite terminal to provide linkage between a few electronic devices and the internet they were able to test broadband connectivity in normally under connected areas of the state.
The telemedicine program will allow patients and healthcare providers to visit in real-time, via two-way video and voice communication utilizing their electronic devices, such as cell phones and computers.
“The importance of this mobile kit is its mission capability; to be able to provide Wi-Fi to residents of rural West Virginia, where broadband and cellular connectivity is limited is paramount in a time like this,” said WVNG Master Sgt. Dan Kirby. “If cases of COVID-19 were to arise in a rural area, we can bring doctors to the people through telemedicine and internet connection. Patients can pull into a parking lot where the flyway communication kits are set up and access face-to-face video with doctors from their vehicles.”
The main objective of this test was to ensure that the WVNG can provide this capability to all areas of the state, if needed.
“The ability to deploy to remote areas will help on two fronts,” said Lt. Col. Jody Ogle, director of communications for the WVNG-J6. “One is to bring capabilities to West Virginians who don’t have the means to travel or who lack internet connection in order for them to speak to a doctor through video in real time and two, to assist our medical providers who are working on the front lines in distancing themselves from patients where possible.”
The WVNG has successfully tested two sites where cellular and broadband capabilities are non-existent. The teams were able to test and link with hospitals from both West Virginia University Medicine hospitals and Marshall University in the same scenario a patient would.
The WVNG will continue to test capabilities for public and industry leaders to help facilitate flattening the curve in our state by developing new and innovative ideas to protect West Virginians against public health threats.