The Texas Hospital Association honored Palo Pinto General Hospital CEO, Ross Korkmas, with its Pioneer Award, the association’s highest honor for rural health care leaders. Korkmas sat down with THA’s magazine staff to discuss the role of rural hospitals and his work at the 74-bed hospital in Mineral Wells, Texas over the last couple of years, including implementing multiple telemedicine service lines with Access TeleCare.

The below is an excerpt from the interview.

“What major changes did your organization make during the pandemic that will continue in the future?

The most significant change we made that has continued is the implementation of telemedicine. The telemedicine initiative leverages technology to improve patient care.

We partnered with a great organization to add tele-intensivists/pulmonologists, tele-infectious disease, and added night tele-hospitalists to support our clinicians and improve patient care. Implementing a robust telemedicine program has been a game-changer for us and it’s here to stay.”

Read the full interview with Texas Hospitals magazine here.