County Judge Steve Young welcomed dignitaries, speakers and other visitors to the unveiling of the county’s new Telehealth Station, which is the first of its kind in the nation, in the Milam County Sheriff’s Department lobby.
“We want people to know it is here. What a great opportunity. I want people to come out and use this machine,” he said before turning the microphone over to Dr. Joy Alonzo, who is a faculty member at Texas A&M Heath Science Center in College Station.
A&M and OnMed partnered in bringing the station to Milam County.
“We are so thrilled,” Alonzo said. “You’ve got to see it, you’ve got to use it.”
Alonzo said a major factor in bringing the health station was the fact that the county lost its two hospitals in 2018.
“We saw that as a county grieving,” she said. “It is a health risk to live in rural counties. We want to change that. And that is what the Telehealth Station will help do,” she said.
“This is a unique opportunity. We want to be part of the solution, not a replacement for primary care providers, but a helper,” said Austin White, president and chief executive officer of OnMed.
“This is a training ground for future rural health-care initiatives in the county. It is the first of its kind in the nation. We want people to say, we want to do what Milam County did.”
In fact, A&M is planning a course in the future that will be based on what information is gleaned from how the Milam County station is used, Alonzo said.
“We are going to teach as a discipline at A&M based on what we learn here,” she said.
The station in Cameron is open from noon to 7 p.m. on Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays.
The fee to use it is $65.
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