Wyoming Telehealth Network Celebrates Providers, Expands Rural Access
The Wyoming Telehealth Network marked Telehealth Awareness Week with statewide recognition of telehealth providers, a social media campaign, and awards including the 2025 Dr. James Bush Award for Excellence in Telehealth. The University of Wyoming emphasized telehealth's role in expanding clinical access across rural Wyoming, and in educating providers and consumers about available resources.
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The Wyoming Telehealth Network observed Telehealth Awareness Week with a slate of public recognitions, outreach and awards meant to highlight telehealth services across the state. Activities included a social media campaign that showcased telehealth practices and a formal awards program. The highest honor, the 2025 Dr. James Bush Award for Excellence in Telehealth, was presented to Chelsea Paulus of Connect Speech Therapy in Sheridan.
In a release from the University of Wyoming, organizers framed the week as part of an ongoing effort to expand clinical access for patients living in rural communities. The release emphasized educational outreach aimed at both health care providers and consumers, along with activities intended to strengthen telehealth implementation statewide. Those efforts reflect broader goals to build provider networks and to promote best practices in telehealth delivery.
For Albany County residents, the push to strengthen telehealth has several practical implications. Rural and semi rural patients often face long drives to specialist appointments. Expanded telehealth capacity can reduce travel burdens for families and individuals seeking consultations for primary care, behavioral health, speech therapy and other services. Local clinics and health care professionals can also benefit from training and network connections that make it easier to coordinate care with specialists at larger centers.
The award to a speech therapy provider in Sheridan underscores the ways telehealth has been used to extend therapy and rehabilitation services beyond traditional clinic walls. That model can be applied to various specialties that serve Albany County, where patients may contend with limited local specialty options. By promoting provider education and sharing implementation strategies, the Wyoming Telehealth Network aims to make telehealth a more reliable and integrated component of routine care.
WyTN's efforts this week are part of a continuing role in supporting telehealth best practices, fostering provider networks, and informing the public about telehealth resources. For local health systems and independent practitioners in Albany County, that support can translate into new tools and training to adopt telehealth technologies, and into stronger referral pathways for patients who need services that are not available locally.
As telehealth becomes more embedded in Wyoming's health care landscape, county residents will likely see both immediate conveniences and longer term changes in access to care. The University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Telehealth Network point to ongoing outreach and infrastructure work as steps toward more equitable health services for rural communities across the state.
