Skip to main content

KVC Health Systems

KC Digital Drive Features KVC’s Innovative MyLink™ Telehealth Program

Photo: Meg Stewart, Flickr via KC Digital Drive

kcdd-logoKC Digital Drive, a nonprofit organization working on technology projects that improve people’s lives and increase economic opportunities in Kansas City, recently hosted representatives from KVC Health Systems for a presentation on KVC’s MyLink™  telehealth program.

Michelle Lawrence, KVC’s Vice President of Development, shared how KVC is using secure video conferencing on tablets, desktops and other mobile devices to connect children in foster care with behavioral healthcare services. In particular, MyLink helps connect children and families in rural areas of Kansas, Nebraska, Kentucky and West Virginia with KVC therapists, trainers and other professionals.

Michelle Lawrence KVC Health Systems MyLInk telehealth program KC Digital Drive

Michelle Lawrence KVC Health Systems at KC Digital Drive presenting on MyLink telehealth program for children in foster care

KC Digital Drive summarized MyLink’s benefits in its article, “KVC Connects Foster Care Families in Rural Areas Through Telehealth Program.”

The article states:

“For families in rural areas where the nearest hospital or care center is 30 miles away, the ability to video chat instantly with a healthcare provider over a broadband connection is more than a convenience – it could be a lifesaver.

That’s what KVC Health Systems plans to make happen.

The child welfare and behavioral healthcare agency has launched a new program that will equip 550 Kansas foster families, including all those in the Kansas City metro area, with iPads that will allow them increased access to KVC staff. It could be just to check in between in-person counseling sessions, or it could be during a crisis situation.”

Many of the children and families that KVC serves have behavioral healthcare challenges. The ability to talk with KVC therapists between in-person sessions or receive immediate help during a crisis has the potential to improve life for children in foster care and the foster families caring for them.

The article also discusses the uniqueness of KVC’s telehealth program:

“The program is among the first in the nation to apply telehealth to a foster care setting. … When the program is complete, it will serve more than 1,000 families in KVC’s national network.”

To learn more about MyLink, check out the article, “KVC Receives USDA Funding to Expand MyLink Program to 1,000 Foster Families,” or contact Michelle Lawrence at (913) 322-4941 or mlawrence@kvc.org.