Butler Health System Telehealth Clinic Opening Soon at Rimersburg Medical Center

bhsRIMERSBURG, Pa. (EYT) – Butler Health System is offering a new lease on life for the Rimersburg Medical Center with a new Telehealth Clinic providing a nationally-recognized team of experts to provide award-winning healthcare for the community.

(Pictured above: Butler Rimersburg RN Tammy Johnston, Dr. Sam Detwiler (on the video screen), and Dr. Rod Stevenson display telehealth in action.)

An open house for the Telehealth clinic will be held at 57 East Broad Street on June 6-9 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

A team of physicians was recently on hand to explain the facility to exploreClarion.com.

Using a high-speed Internet connection and the latest health monitoring with video, patients are linked to the Butler Health System.

“This is going to be a remote telehealth clinic, so patients can come here,” said Detwiler, a physician at Butler Health in Chicora.

“We have a registered nurse on-site, and they will be assisted in getting on to the BHS portal to do telehealth visits with not just our primary care team at Butler for primary care needs, but our surgical team, Dr. Rod Stevenson and his group at Clarion, all of our Butler Health System partners, as well as our specialty care services.

“This is a new concept and innovation that was born and bred by Dr. Stevenson, so it’s kind of a state-of-the-art model, and he’s the guy who should explain it to you.”

Stevenson, a surgeon at the Clarion Campus, continued the explanation.

“One of the things we wanted to do was to provide access to patients who normally might not have that capability either physically, not being able to get to the doctor because of transportation issues, or not being able to use the Internet because of connectivity issues,” Stevenson explained.

“We thought this might be a way to have them come a mile for healthcare versus having to get somebody to take them or not being able to use the Internet because they don’t have connectivity.

“I think this is going to be a wonderful thing for this area and maybe the beginning of something that’s just going to spread our footprint in the area.”

Patients will see the doctors on the video screens, but a familiar face will greet them in the office.

RN Tammy Johnston, a Rimersburg native with 35 years of nursing experience, is the face of the new office.

“I’ve done a little telehealth, mostly since COVID started,” Johnston said. “I think this kind of all took off with COVID, and a lot of people had to come up with a new way to do things. So, I think this is where it started. I am from this area, and the Internet service is very poor here. So, some people just don’t have the ability to do an appointment from home because of poor Internet access or transportation issues.

“With the price of gas at almost $5 a gallon, that may cause problems. If we can save people from driving to Butler, they’re going to appreciate that because it’s an expense, and some people are on a fixed income.”

She will be there to help patients get used to the procedure, but all appointments must be scheduled by calling 833-602-CARE (2273). Vitals can be taken onsite by Johnston.

“We accept any insurance, and all of the insurance is taken care of through Butler Health System,” added Johnston. “When they come here, we aren’t going to deal with their money at all. That’s all going to be taken care of outside of here–the copays, everything is done outside of here. Anything that Butler Health System takes we take, which is pretty much everything.”

Johnston expects eight to 10 patients a day but thinks it may be more.

Appointments for providers are available for but are not limited to cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, electrophysiology, general surgery, primary care, pulmonary, and women’s care.

“All roads to better health lead to the Butler Health System,” said Kip Beals, a family physician who sees patients in Seneca and a member of the BHS administrative team.

“The reality is some folks don’t have a primary care doctor through the Butler Health System, and if that is the case, this site can assist them in accessing faster care on-demand or urgent care.”

Beals, the organization’s Chief Wellness Officer, said those urgent care centers can be accessed through a portal on demand even if you don’t have a Butler Health primary care physician.

“One of the goals of the Butler Health System is to serve all of our rural communities between Clarion and Butler, with not just good primary health care, but good specialty support care,” said Detwiler. “We have dealt with access issues for a long time in these rural counties here in Western Pennsylvania.”


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