There are countless benefits to living in Michigan’s far-flung rural reaches – peace and quiet abound, bountiful natural resources provide ample recreation opportunities and neighbors, well, are more neighborly.

But there is one distinct drawback to life at the tip of the mitt. Access to healthcare, particularly specialists, isn’t exactly at our fingertips. In fact, many northern Michigan residents must drive 30 minutes or more for the simplest of care and travel hours away to see specialists.

A University of Nebraska study published in 2014 found that people living in rural areas on average live three fewer years than those living in urban areas. The researchers pointed to major chronic illnesses combined with less access to health care as factors contributing to the discrepancy.

That’s why a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to help Munson Healthcare expand its telemedicine reach in the region is so important. That $400,000 will mean improved access to healthcare in the area’s most far-flung clinics. Certainly there is no substitute for an in-person visit with a doctor, but advances in technology have allowed health professionals to redefine the idea of face-to-face care.

The grant will help Munson purchase and install internet-connected equipment, including live video conferencing gear with high-resolution cameras and web-connected instruments. The system will allow a doctor, with the help of an on-the-ground nurse or other health professional, to conduct exams and determine treatment from afar when distance, weather or mobility otherwise would prevent a patient from accessing medical services.

“What we’re looking to do is expand our connection with specialty clinics, like oncology or infectious diseases, and get care out to outlying areas to make it easier for patients to access specialists,” said Peter Marinoff, president of Munson Healthcare’s Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital in Frankfort.

The grant will especially help in areas where small clinics provide basic care, but patients are required to travel for more specialty services. Marinoff pointed to Beaver Island as one example where weather and geography create barriers to patients receiving care. Telemedicine likely will have its greatest impact in those areas.

Expanding telemedicine programs is an essential step toward health care equality in northern Michigan.

Record-Eagle (Traverse City)