Weldon Webb, Director of Rural Health Programs, Principal Investigator

Weldon D. Webb earned his bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Missouri.

Webb retired as Associate Vice Chancellor in 2002 after serving the School of Medicine and MU Health Care for 32 years. He helped lead its efforts to deliver rural health care, promote training for rural physicians and develop the Missouri Telehealth Network. He has served as principal investigator on several HRSA and NLM grants in excess of $7 million in funding.

Webb agreed to return to the School of Medicine as Director of Rural Health Programs in order to enhance the SOM's commitment to rural health care.

Email: webbw@health.missouri.edu

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Karen Edison, MD, Medical Director of Telehealth

Karen Edison, MD, is a seasoned clinician with extensive experience in caring for patients at distant sites via telehealth. She received her medical degree and completed her residency in dermatology at the University of Missouri in Columbia where she joined the faculty in 1993.

She served as Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow and then majority health policy staff for the Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in the United States Senate from 1999-2001, where she was highly instrumental in the legislative expansion of Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services.

She returned to Missouri in 2001 where her current titles include Philip C. Anderson Professor and Chairman of the Department of Dermatology, Medical Director of the Missouri Telehealth Network and Co-Director of the Center for Health Policy at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Email: edisonk@health.missouri.edu

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Rachel Mutrux, Director of Telehealth

Rachel Mutrux is the Director for the Missouri Telehealth Network. She has been with MTN since September 2002.

Rachel is working on a project with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Missouri Primary Care Association to jointly establish a network for bioattack preparedness and clinical response. She establishes contact with the hospitals and clinics included in the grant and works to add them to the Missouri Telehealth Network. Once the project is complete MTN will have added approximately 40 new sites across Missouri. She is also responsible for managing the expansion, quality assurance and the day-to-day operations of the network.

Rachel is a member of the Governor's Health IT Taskforce Subcommittee on Telehealth. She has attended national telehealth meetings for the last two years and is aware of the different aspects of clinical, regulatory, legislative, and technological issues surrounding telehealth.

Prior to coming to MTN, she worked at the University of Missouri Student Health Center. She also has a bachelors in biology from the University of Missouri and is currently working on a masters degree.

Email: mutruxe@health.missouri.edu

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Pam Kelly, Assistant Director of Telehealth

Pam Kelly is the Assistant Director for the Missouri Telehealth Network. She has been with MTN since June 2005. She is responsible for development and implantation of the MTN marketing plan, day-to-day operations, credentialing & JCAHO, as well as, building and maintaining relationships with MUHC staff and partner sites.

In her previous role as clinical coordinator she assisted patients in rural communities see specialists at University of Missouri Health Care via telehealth. She worked closely with the telehealth site coordinators as well as the nursing and administrative staff of the specialty clinics to ensure the patient has a successful visit. She also provides support and education regarding telehealth for providers and departments within the University of Missouri Health Care system.

Prior to coming to MTN, she worked for CitiStreet Associates, LLC, as a Financial Planner. During her position there, she managed retirement programs for several different hospitals. She also worked for Boone Hospital Center as a Program Manager in their Home Health division. During her time there she wrote grants for eldercare, and RFP's for the Parent Aide Program. Pam received a "Spoonhead Award" at Boone Hospital for outstanding leadership amongst all leadership staff. She was featured in the "People You Should Know" section of the Columbia Business Times magazine. Pam holds a bachelor in Business Administration from Columbia College, and a Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources from William Woods.

She is an adjunct professor at William Woods University teaching Healthcare Economics in the graduate program.

Email: kellypp@health.missouri.edu

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Frank Gannan, Manager of Technology & Vendor Relations

As the Manager of Technology & Vendor Relations, Frank Gannan manages the technical side of the Missouri Telehealth Network.

Frank began working with computers in 1984 writing computer software. Some of the software he has written includes educational computer games and customized accounting software. Frank has also served as a Network Administrator for several companies since 1984. Additionally, he has worked in areas of designing graphic arts, writing instruction manuals, consulting on desktop publishing software, consulting in multimedia marketing and instruction software, providing customer support and training users in basic computer use, advanced graphic design and photo editing.

Frank has been with the Missouri Telehealth Network since 1997. He started as a network specialist for the Rural Telemedicine Evaluation Project that networked medical providers in three rural areas of Missouri to each other, the Internet and the University of Missouri. In 1999, he began managing all MTN technologies including, but not limited to, videoconferencing devices, routers, PCs, auxiliary cameras, medical peripheral devices, channel service units and multipoint control units. Frank also works with end-users on technical support issues, telecommunication companies, equipment vendors and the Missouri Research and Education Network. In 2003 Frank became a Certified Videoconferencing Engineer.

Email: gannanf@health.missouri.edu

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Aaron Woolridge, User Support Analyst

Email: woolridgea@health.missouri.edu

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Mirna Becevic, Clinical Coordinator

Mirna Becevic is the Clinical Coordinator for the Missouri Telehealth Network. She has been with MTN since March 2007.

As Clinical Coordinator, Mirna is responsible for maintenance and expansion of telehealth activities. She analyzes the day-to-day clinic operations and ensures that patients and supporting documentation flow through the clinic. Mirna assists remote site personnel with the development and implementation of protocols, the presentation of patients and the collection and delivery of required data.

Mirna worked as the Clinical Coordinator and Self Guided Change Interventionist for MU Medical Genetics before joining MTN. Prior to coming to MU in 2002, she has worked as an interpreter for the European Union mission in Bosnia for about 6 years.

She graduated summa cum laude from Columbia College with Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and Sociology, and is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Health Management and Informatics at the University of Missouri School of Medicine.

Email: becevicm@health.missouri.edu

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Terri Benskin, Clinical Coordinator

Terri Benskin joined the MTN Staff in November of 2007 as a Clinical Coordinator. In this position Terri is responsible for maintenance and expansion of telehealth activities. She analyzes the day-to-day operations and ensures that patients and supporting documentation flow through the clinic. Terri assists remote site personnel with the development and implementation of protocols, the presentation of patients and the collection and delivery of required data.

In her previous position as a Medical Records Supervisor for the University of Missouri Health Care she was responsible for coordinating the release of medical records. Terri graduated Magna Cum Laude from Central Missouri State University with a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice, and she is currently pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Health Information Administration at Stephen's College.

Email: benskint@health.missouri.edu

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Mary Beth Schneider, Training Coordinator