Political Quotes

“I come to the floor to express my support for the ECHO Act, which the Senate will be voting on in approximately 1 hour. This represents bipartisan work--another bipartisan achievement during this very productive term of Congress. In this case it is Senators Hatch and Schatz who have led us to this morning's vote. The ECHO Act is named after Project ECHO, an innovative telehealth- inspired model originally conceived at the University of New Mexico. Project ECHO has created promising opportunities for primary care clinicians to receive high-quality specialty training remotely. In this way, the most remote patient in the most underserved area can receive specialized care by his hometown doctor or provider. I am a longtime supporter of using technology and telehealth to improve patients' access to quality care. New Mexico is a State with many rural areas, as is my State of Mississippi. For that reason, Mississippi and New Mexico have had to be leaders in innovative health care models for years, such as Project ECHO in New Mexico and the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS. At UMMC we are national leaders in providing technology-enabled care remotely. While ECHO emphasizes training among professionals, the University of Mississippi Medical Center has used remote technology for clinical care and patient monitoring. Since 2003, the medical center in Jackson has reached more than one- half million rural Mississippians through the use of telehealth.…”