Libraries Could Be the New Clinics

In community broadband, libraries are considered “anchor institutions.” Like anchor tenants in a mall, libraries and other institutions, such as schools, hospitals and assisted living facilities, all contribute to the financial stability of broadband networks. Libraries drive large numbers of people onto networks. Now they can drive thousands to telehealth through those networks. Libraries are realizing that they can be in the vanguard of transforming health care delivery in urban and rural areas. But telehealth providers must communicate what resources and tools they need libraries to offer. Furthermore, wherever communities and libraries want telehealth delivered, broadband infrastructure must be in place. No broadband, no telehealth. Libraries reach out and touch almost everyone in their communities across the entire economic spectrum, so imagining telehealth capabilities at work is quite exciting. Now is a great time to have a telehealth and broadband vision interlaced with creativity, fortified with the belief that people can make a difference in the battle for health care equity while fighting the good fight for digital equity.

[Craig Settles is president of CJ Speaks, and unites community broadband teams and healthcare stakeholders through telehealth projects that transform healthcare delivery.]