Project Atlas: Virtual Care for Rural Veterans | Philips Healthcare — Transcript & Summary

Terry Ray Beasley, a 72-year-old veteran in Eureka, Montana, describes how remote rural veterans lack access to VA care and how Philips' Project Atlas virtual care pods address this gap.

Key Takeaways

Remote rural veterans face serious barriers to VA care, including distance, aging, lack of technology, and unreliable weather.
Project Atlas uses data-driven criteria, such as travel distance, broadband availability, and veteran organization engagement, to prioritize deployment sites.
Co-designing the solution with the community drove adoption and demonstrated the value of listening to end users.
Telehealth pods can turn a hazardous multi-hour trip into accessible care, improving safety and quality of life.
Peer connection and mutual support among veterans remain central to community wellbeing.

What the video covers

Terry Ray Beasley, a 72-year-old veteran in Eureka, northwestern Montana, introduces the community and his family's military service.
Rural veterans, many of them older Vietnam-era vets, often lack computers, adequate cellphones, or the ability to drive.
The local veteran community is aging, with an average member age of seventy plus, and the area is very remote with unpredictable weather.
The nearest clinic is an hour and a half away and the nearest VA hospital five hours away, making travel a safety issue.
Project Atlas identified communities with many veterans far from VA care, lacking broadband at home, and with active VFW and American Legion leadership.
Eureka ranked first among these criteria and was chosen as the initial deployment site, with other locations to follow over the next year.
The project was co-designed with users through community meetings, shaping the solution around stated needs and desires.
The virtual care pod gives every veteran who is a VA patient access to telehealth without dangerous winter travel.
Veterans in the community have already come in asking to use telehealth.
Beasley emphasizes peer support among veterans, who look out for and depend on one another.

Chapters

Why was Eureka, Montana chosen as the first deployment site for Project Atlas?

Eureka ranked highest across the selection criteria: a high concentration of veterans far from VA care, no home broadband access, and active VFW and American Legion leadership supportive of the concept. The speaker also notes its remote location as a strong reason.

What challenges do rural veterans in this community face in accessing healthcare?

Many are older, some lack computers or adequate cellphones, and many cannot drive. The nearest clinic is an hour and a half away, the nearest VA hospital five hours away, and winter weather makes travel dangerous.

How does the virtual care pod help veterans according to the video?

The pod gives every veteran who is a VA patient an outlet for telehealth, so they don't have to risk icy roads for a long drive to receive care. Veterans have already asked to use it.