The 60 Regional Extension Centers are located in nine regional areas. This post is checking in on the Midwest East North Central region and its five states and seven centers. You can say one thing about this region, they have their acronym names working for them, well maybe not everyone.
Illinois – IL-HITEC (Illinois Health Information Technology Extension Center Collaborative)
A collaboration of several healthcare and educational organizations, this REC services all providers outside the city of Chicago. It is headquartered at Northern Illinois University and has satellite delivery offices in DeKalb, Chicago, Peoria and Sauget. Find out if you qualify for their services by completing their survey. Check out local news and events here.
Illinois – CHITREC (Chicago Health Information Technology Regional Extension)
A partnership among Northwestern University, the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services and more than 40 local and national collaborators focused on HIT adoption and use needs within the city of Chicago. Chicago might be the only city tough enough to endure their acronym name! I wonder who was at that naming meeting? Servicing more than 2,400 primary care providers in the concentrated 606xx zip code area. The majority of these PCPs care for the under/uninsured and medically under served in Chicago. Check out local news and events here.
Indiana – I-HITEC (Indiana Healthcare Information Technology Extension Center)
Purdue University, in conjunction with statewide partners are servicing primary care providers in all 92 counties in the state. Priority providers are those that are in small practices with less than 10 PCP’s, public or critical access hospitals, community health centers or rural health clinics, or other settings that serve the uninsured, under insured, under served or other at-risk populations. Get your questions answered on their FAQ page. Check out local news and events here.
Michigan – M-CEITA (Michigan Center for Effective IT Adoption)
This REC is facilitated by Altarum Institute, a Michigan-based nonprofit, and supported by a consortium of Michigan-based health care organizations. Check out the schedule and locations for the free EHR Financial & Technical Assistance Workshop sponsored by the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians and M-CEITA. Check out local news and events here.
Ohio – Tri-State Regional Extension Center
Servicing Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana, this REC is operated by HealthBridge, one of the largest, most advanced and financially successful health information exchange organizations in the US. Check out their upcoming webinars. Also, check out news and upcoming events here.
Ohio – OHIP (Ohio Health Information Partnership)
This REC has funding for 6000 providers in Ohio. Lookup to find the center in your area with their query page. One of the best web sites I have visited so far that you can find what they do and what you need very easily. The home page is counting down the 6000 providers and displays a Bulletin Board of current events.
Wisconsin – WHITEC (Wisconsin Health Information Technology Extension Center)
A collaboration of six Wisconsin organizations, this REC is servicing all counties in Wisconsin and will exist as a division of MetaStar. The vendor selection has been going on since June according to the web site. The page has not been update to announce any participating vendor partnerships, stay tuned. Learn how providers can partner with WHITEC to develop a plan that is tailored to the practice’s needs through the REC’s events.