NORFOLK, Va. — Leslie Small is one of the 10,383 people who call Gates County, North Carolina home.
Two years ago she spoke with News 3about the rural area's access to healthcare.
“I call the doctor," said Small in a 2022 interview. "I hope I can get in, take off work, make up my hours later at night, and then come back and keep going."
Investigations
Residents in NE North Carolina forced to drive long distances for medical care
Back then, we took the drive from her front door to her doctor's office. With good weather and no traffic a one-way trip was just under 35 minutes.
"I'm very privileged," she explained in 2022. "I have a car. I have gas money."
At the time, Gates County was one of two counties in North Carolina with zero physicians of any kind and was considered a "medical desert."
Watch previous story: Northeast N.C. counties experiencing 'medical deserts,' forced to drive long distances for medical care
Since then, some things have changed. News 3 caught up with her Wednesday.
"We've done a lot in the past couple of years since my story initially aired," said Small. "There's a woman here that does house calls as a nurse practitioner."
She added that the area has a health clinic, and they've seen telehealth improvements as more people get internet access. But, there are still concerns if an emergency arises. And there are still car trips in the foreseeable future.
"In terms of travel, it's the same," said Small. "You still have go to Suffolk to see a doctor."
Outer Banks
New program aims to recruit more doctors, medical providers to the Outer Banks
Now, ODU researchers think more can be done with telehealth in rural areas like Gates County.
"[Medical professionals and patients] said that they want to use medical devices in remote settings but because of the lack of [network] connectivity or intermittent connectivity, they are not sure medical devices can be trusted," said Sachin Shetty, ODU professor, executive director for ODU's Center for Secure and Intelligent Critical Systems. "[Medical professionals] have questions. Am I talking to a real insulin pump? Am I confident the insulin pump will administer the right dosage?"
He added that doctors and patients seeking to use medical devices remotely want to make sure the connection is secure, the medical devices function properly, and the data is protected.
That's why he and his team are working on a project set to boost secure communication in areas with low 5g connectivity and no high-speed broadband. It's a management system for 5g-enabled devices that doesn't use a central database.
Watch related story: New program aims to recruit more doctors, medical providers to the Outer Banks
"You can connect it even if the connection is not strong," said Shetty.
The project—with help from a $100,000 Commonwealth Commercialization Fund grant—is on track to be marketed soon to support healthcare in rural areas.
Small added no matter how far out people live, it's important for everyone to have access to health care.
"We want younger people to come back, but we have to take care of people in order for them to want to come back or even stay," said Small.
While some people may move closer to care if they have health issues, Small said, many people in the area don't have the resources or desire to leave their homes.
