Jodey Arrington: “Rural communities are the heartbeat of America. These are hardworking, God-fearing people, and they deserve access to…”

“Rural communities are the heartbeat of America. These are hardworking, God-fearing people, and they deserve access to basic healthcare. And quite frankly, if our Nation is going to reap the blessings of our food supply and food security and our fuel supply and energy independence, we have to work together to make sure that we have that critical access to care, which means sustainable rural communities and a robust supply of ag and energy. Now, in 1969 in the wisdom of the Texas legislature, they created the Texas Tech University Medical School that became the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. And the mission was not only to train up the next generation of healthcare professionals and develop the next generation of healthcare innovations, it was to plug a gaping hole in rural communities by providing excellent healthcare services to these good people. The Health Sciences Center has become Texas' center for innovation in telehealth practices. The Health Sciences Center has pioneered telehealth and paved the way for over 100,000 rural west Texans to access vital healthcare services. By understanding the needs of rural patients who are at increased risk for physician shortages and have a higher mortality rate than their urban counterparts, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center was able to provide a blueprint for telehealth best practices that have been essential to our country over the past 2 years.…”