Grant Provides Internet 2 Access for State
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 4, 2009) – A federal $1.4 million grant will support
increased health care delivery, online health care education and enhanced network connections
between the University of Kentucky and rural medical centers across Eastern and South Central
Kentucky.
The federal grant allows UK to install a state-of-the-art network connection to Internet 2, a system that is 10 times larger than today’s access. The funding is being provided by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration as a direct appropriation secured by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell.
“UK will coordinate this grant with KyRON, the state’s higher education network, to enable statewide access to medical resources at UK,” said Doyle Friskney, UK’s associate vice president for information technology. “The greatly improved access will provide all public universities and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System with improved connectivity to academic resources worldwide.”
James Tracy, UK’s vice president for research and the principal investigator for the appropriation, noted the Internet 2 connection also will benefit UK’s clinical and biomedical researchers.
“The enhanced connections provided by Internet 2 will increase our researchers’ eligibility for advanced research grants and will allow them to participate in and contribute to national collaborative research projects,” Tracy said.
Still, the access to Internet 2 has implications for residents across Kentucky:
The federal grant allows UK to install a state-of-the-art network connection to Internet 2, a system that is 10 times larger than today’s access. The funding is being provided by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration as a direct appropriation secured by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell.
“UK will coordinate this grant with KyRON, the state’s higher education network, to enable statewide access to medical resources at UK,” said Doyle Friskney, UK’s associate vice president for information technology. “The greatly improved access will provide all public universities and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System with improved connectivity to academic resources worldwide.”
James Tracy, UK’s vice president for research and the principal investigator for the appropriation, noted the Internet 2 connection also will benefit UK’s clinical and biomedical researchers.
“The enhanced connections provided by Internet 2 will increase our researchers’ eligibility for advanced research grants and will allow them to participate in and contribute to national collaborative research projects,” Tracy said.
Still, the access to Internet 2 has implications for residents across Kentucky:
- UK will work with health care professionals in rural hospitals, clinics and other medical centers across Eastern and South Central Kentucky to provide enhanced network connections.
- The Internet 2 network will enable UK’s Medical Center colleges – Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Public Health, Health Sciences and Pharmacy – to deliver long-distance health care education programs to future health care professionals, helping to alleviate the projected shortage of health professionals in the Appalachian region.
- Patients in health care facilities across the state will benefit as the Internet 2 network permits UK researchers to more quickly move their health care discoveries from their laboratories to physicians. This especially involves the increased availability of new technologies used to diagnose and treat patient illnesses and disorders.
The Internet 2 connection helps cement
Lexington as a base for leading medical center research and health care. The connection,
to be incorporated in the new UK Albert B. Chandler Hospital, will provide an economic stimulus
that attracts more physicians and clinics to Lexington. These physicians and their
knowledge also will be available to patients statewide through
videoconferencing.
Additionally, students at the UK colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy who are assigned to rotations in rural areas will have access to the same resources as students on campus. The connection also will offer K-12 school districts direct access to UK faculty and facilities, as well as health care resources on the Internet.
Additionally, students at the UK colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy who are assigned to rotations in rural areas will have access to the same resources as students on campus. The connection also will offer K-12 school districts direct access to UK faculty and facilities, as well as health care resources on the Internet.