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Telehealth Awareness Week: The Present and Future of Healthcare Access

By: | Tags: , , , | September 19th, 2025

Telehealth saves lives. In stroke care, every minute counts, and TeleSpecialists’ sub-4-minute neurologist-to-bedside response times prove digital healthcare delivers when it matters most. What began as a solution for rural hospitals has evolved into essential healthcare infrastructure that improves outcomes, reduces costs, and expands specialist access for communities nationwide. 

This year’s Telehealth Awareness Week, led by the American Telemedicine Association, reinforces this critical truth: telehealth is health. The distinction between virtual and traditional care continues to disappear as digital healthcare platforms prove their clinical value and operational impact. With over a decade of delivering 1.5 million patient encounters with proven outcomes through digital healthcare solutions, we demonstrate this transformation daily. 

Why Telehealth Matters

Clinical expertise shouldn’t be limited by location. Digital healthcare eliminates these barriers by bringing specialist expertise directly to the bedside when patients need it most. Rural emergency departments can deliver the same quality stroke care as major medical centers. Community hospitals can provide psychiatric services without maintaining full-time specialists. Patients can receive follow-up care without traveling hundreds of miles. 

The impact extends beyond convenience. Faster specialist response times save lives in time-sensitive emergencies. Reduced patient transfers keep families together while ensuring clinical confidence. Direct specialist backup reduces physician burnout and improves job satisfaction. 

Building Comprehensive Care Programs

Most hospitals begin with an immediate specialist need: reliable stroke coverage, emergency psychiatric consultations, or expert EEG interpretation. However, successful digital healthcare programs evolve beyond single-service solutions into comprehensive specialty platforms that serve multiple clinical needs. 

Our comprehensive TeleNeurology and TelePsychiatry programs demonstrate this evolution: hospitals often start with emergency neurology coverage, then expand to include outpatient programs, specialized reads, and integrated rounding services as they see the operational benefits. 

The transformation follows a clear pattern: proven emergency coverage → expanded service lines → comprehensive specialty programs → measurable operational improvements. 

Delivering Clinical Excellence and Operational Impact

Facilities nationwide have trusted TeleSpecialists to deliver comprehensive digital healthcare through collaboration that transforms patient outcomes. Through these successful partnerships, we’ve proven that quality virtual care requires more than just technology through measurable results: 

  • Sub-3-minute neurologist-to-bedside times that enable rapid treatment decisions in critical cases 
  • Integrated care models that bridge emergency interventions with ongoing outpatient management 
  • Seamless workflow integration that enhances rather than disrupts hospital operations 
  • Comprehensive specialist coverage that allows hospitals to maintain essential services locally 

These results reflect real clinical impact: 600+ monthly stroke interventions guided by remote specialists, the first integrated emergency-to-outpatient neurology model in the country, and partnerships with 400+ hospitals built on consistent delivery rather than promises. 

The Evolution Toward Intelligent Healthcare

Digital healthcare will continue evolving from reactive care to predictive health management. Artificial intelligence will help identify high-risk patients before crises develop, while advanced analytics optimize specialist routing and resource allocation. The goal isn’t replacing physicians with technology but amplifying clinical expertise through intelligent systems. 

This evolution represents healthcare’s natural progression toward personalized care delivery. The goal remains consistent: ensuring that every patient receives expert-level care when they need it, regardless of their hospital’s size or location. 

Telehealth Is Healthcare

Telehealth Awareness Week reinforces what we’ve experienced through over a decade of hospital partnerships: digital healthcare isn’t an alternative to excellent clinical care; it is excellent clinical care, delivered through sophisticated technology platforms.

Partner with Proven Excellence

The hospitals we serve and the partnerships we’ve built prove that when digital healthcare is implemented thoughtfully, it doesn’t just solve immediate problems. It creates the foundation for comprehensive specialty programs that serve communities for years to come. 

Transform your specialty care delivery with proven digital solutions. Let’s discuss your clinical challenges and measurable outcomes.

CONTACT US

Nattasha Acevedo, MD

Dr. Acevedo received her medical degree from the Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico and did her neurology residency at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. She went on to do a clinical neurophysiology fellowship at Emory School of Medicine in Atla nta, Georgia and then joined private practice in Fort Myers, Florida. She currently resides in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She likes running, paddle boarding and spending time with family.
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Bernadette Borte, MD

Dr. Borte received her medical degree from St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine in Grand Cayman. She completed her neurology residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa. Her areas of interest include inpatient neurology and acute stroke. When not working, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her family. Dr. Borte joined the TeleSpecialist family in March of 2019.
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Mazen Almidani, MD

Dr. Almidani is board certified in pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics and board certified in epilepsy, as well as neurology with special  qualification in child neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.  Dr. Almidani is happily married with 4 children. His oldest son has autism and his daughter has complicated seizures; both were a drive for him to become a neurologist. Dr. Almidani enjoys soccer, running and spending time with his family. He is very involved with his sons’ therapy and helping with daily challenges. He is double board certified in Pediatric and Adult Neurology and Epilepsy. He sees children and adults. He also participates in charities for children in Syria who may be underprivileged and/or affected by the war. Dr. Almidani joined TeleSpecialists in August 2020.
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Amanda Cheshire, MD

Dr. Cheshire received her medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Kentucky. She completed her neurology residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. She did a fellowship in neurophysiology at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Cheshire is double board certified in neurology and clinical neurophysiology. She enjoys traveling, reading and music. She currently resides in Viera, Florida.  Dr. Cheshire joined TeleSpecialists in June 2019.
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Jessica Floyd, MD

Dr. Floyd completed her neurology residency at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida followed by fellowship training in clinical neurophysiology with focus in EEG and epilepsy at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. She has particular interest in hospital neurology and patient education as well as the blossoming specialty of lifestyle medicine. She strives to take advantage of every encounter with patients and medical staff to empower them to do their own research into how daily thoughts, choices, and habits can add up to create greater and longer-lasting brain and neurologic health for ourselves and our loved ones. She lives in Florence, South Carolina with her awesome husband of 13 plus years and three beautiful children. She is an avid yogi, astrologer, and lover of food and all things neurology! Dr. Floyd joined the TeleSpecialist family in July 2017.
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Nancy Futrell, MD

Dr. Futrell received her medical degree from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also did her neurology residency at the University of Utah as well as a research fellowship in cerebral vascular disease at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. She currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has authored 2 books and 50 peer reviewed papers. 
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Rebecca Jimenez-Sanders, MD

Dr. Jimenez Sanders received her undergraduate degree from Emory University, and her medical degree from the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Puerto Rico. She completed her neurology residency at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, where she also did a specialized headache medicine and facial pain fellowship. She currently resides in Tampa, Florida with her husband and her two daughters. She is also fluent in Spanish and Italian languages, and enjoys photography, baking, boating, and biking.
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Cory Lamar, MD

Dr. Lamar received his medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. He completed his internship and residency at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Following residency, he completed a clinical fellowship in neurophysiology, with a concentration in epilepsy. He currently resides in Florida and enjoys outdoor activities.
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Clifford Meyers, MD

Dr. Meyers received his medical degree from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and his MBA from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. He completed his neurology residency at the University of Rochester, where he also did a neurophysiology fellowship. Dr. Meyers resides in Webster, New York with his wife and daughter. When not doing teleneurology, he enjoys playing sports with his wife and daughter.
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Tao Tong, MD

Dr. Tong received her medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. She completed her neurology residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, where she also did a neuromuscular/EMG fellowship.  She currently resides in College Station, Texas. Dr. Tong is married with two boys. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and reading.
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Shubhangi Chumble, MD

Dr. Chumble attended BJ Medical School. She is a board certified neurologist with a subspeciality interest in sleep medicine. Dr. Chumble did her residency at Howard University in Washington DC and has practiced neurology since 2001 in private and corporate settings. She lives in Melbourne, Florida and loves the sunshine state. Her hobbies include yoga, meditation, cooking , traveling and meeting new people. She also loves to do stained glass, pottery and painting. She joined TeleSpecialists in June 2019.
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