A PICTURE OF HEALTH

Technology Reduces Need for Travel to Clinics

By KELLY K. SERRANO
             Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

    The Ocañas family drove from Denver to Loveland on Tuesday so 5-year-old Jermey Ocañas could see a nurse practitioner in Utah. Jermey was one of 27 patients to take advantage of Shriners Hospital’s first “telemedicine” clinic in Loveland at the McKee Conference and Wellness Center. His grandfather, Jesse Ocañas, lives in Loveland. The Shriners use videoconferencing so health-care practitioners in Utah can see patients and their X-rays in Colorado, and the patients don’t have to travel to a Shriners Hospital. The closest one to Colorado is in Salt Lake City.  “This makes it so much easier for people,” said Wayne Litten, with El Jebel Shriners’ medical staff. The Shriners also are offering telemedicine clinics in Colorado Springs and Alamosa, and officials are considering providing them in Englewood, he said.
   The organization offered telemedicine for 3’/2 years at The Children’s Hospital in Denver, but now that facility is just too crowded, Litten said. Shriners hopes to offer the clinics in Loveland once a month, he said. Some patients traveled from Wyoming and Nebraska for a telemedicine visit with a nurse practitioner on Thursday, Litten said. Chris Nickerson, administrative fellow with McKee, said Shriners contacted McKee officials several months ago about offering the clinics so their patients wouldn’t have to make the long trek to Utah. “We saw the need for these children to be seen,” he said. “We were more than happy to partner with Shriners to get this program off the ground.” Litten said Shriners chose Loveland because of its central location and easy access, and because William Moeller, a Shriners regional hospital representative in Loveland, had the contacts to make it happen. McKee donated the space, equipment, X-rays when needed and doctors, who looked at the X-rays and provided their expert opinions, Nickerson said. A nurse, who serves as the Shriners doctors’ hands, billed Shriners for her time.
   Jermey was born without a fibula in his right leg. Because that is the bone that holds his ankle and foot together, his foot bones looked like shattered glass, said his mother, Karen Ocañas. When he was 7 months old, Jermey’s parents allowed Shriners doctors to amputate his foot and lower leg. Ever since, they have taken him to The Children’s Hospital in Denver for telemedicine appointments or to Utah for surgery. He has gone to prosthetist in Denver for his prosthesis. “Is he really that tall?” asked nurse practitioner Emily Tyler as she looked at Jermey’s X-ray via video. “He looks so tall on the X-ray.” His parents beamed and bragged about how normal their son is despite his disability. “He cruises big time,” said Jermey’s dad, Tony Ocañas. His mom added, “He’s doing pretty good.” But when Jermey comes home from kindergarten, he immediately wants to shed his prosthetic leg and use crutches for a while, because his knee hurts, Karen Ocañas said. That was the reason for the telemedicine visit, she said. “It doesn’t look as if it’s too small,” Tyler said while looking at the prosthesis on Jermey’s leg. “It does look as if it’s too short.” The skin didn’t appear to be irritated, she noted. “This is pretty good for another couple of months” with some adjustments, Tyler, said of the prosthesis.
   When the connection between McKee and Shriners was broken for a time because of technical difficulties, Karen Ocañas explained that doctors put a staple in Jermey’s knee in March to keep it from growing inward. When Tyler came back on screen, she asked Jermey —who, by now, was becoming impatient and ready to leave--- to walk with his prosthesis. His mother bribed him with the promise of a movie, and he reluctantly complied. “I think that staple is ready to come out,” Tyler said after Jermey’s short walk. “He corrected really quickly. “When would be a good time for you to come up?” It’s a trip that his family, including 4-year-old sister Louisa, has made numerous times already and never will hesitate to make if telemedicine weren’t available, Karen Ocañas said. However, it is much simpler and less expensive to travel to Loveland than to Utah. “He’s my priority,” she said of Jermey. “I never look at it as an inconvenience because we’re taking care of him, so he can be as normal as you and I.”

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