Connections: June 2024 - 9

Project ECHO
marks five years
Project ECHO® uses to connect people in
an interprofessional virtual setting, sharing
knowledge between participants and subject
matter experts. It is especially helpful for rural
communities seeking expertise on a broad range
of health and medical issues.
" Everyone is a teacher, and everyone is a learner, "
says Kathleen Broglio, DNP, associate professor of
medicine and nurse practitioner, palliative
medicine, who has co-led the Palliative Care ECHO
with Robin Larson, MD, MPH, through three
cohorts with the support of the Project ECHO team at Dartmouth
Health. ECHO is an acronym for Extension for Community Healthcare
Outcomes. It grew out of the vision of a University of New Mexico
doctor, Sanjeev Arora, who in 2003 created Project ECHO as a
no-cost, virtual mentoring platform to provide education to
community providers across his state. Organizations all over
the world have utilized this model, including Dartmouth Health,
which this year celebrates five years and 54 ECHOs supporting
improvements in clinical care and community-based health systems.
Each ECHO has an interprofessional core panel that may include
subject matter experts in the focus area of the ECHO (such as
palliative care), including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and
social workers, as well as a community member. In each session,
a structured model is utilized. In the first 15 minutes a presenter
gives a didactic-a factual, structured presentation. This is followed
by a 5-minute presentation of a real-life case when a participant is
seeking expert guidance. In the remaining time, the entire group
focuses on asking clarifying questions, discussing and sharing
viewpoints, and giving recommendations, with the core panel
The past three cohorts of the Palliative Care ECHO have been
very successful, and the program content has continued to evolve
over time. The sessions have had an average of 70 participants and
have received high scores on feedback metrics. Fifty percent of
participants were repeat attendees.
" Our mission is to improve palliative care throughout our
region, and our leadership is committed to the model, " Broglio says.
" This was the culmination of what I hoped to do in my career. "
Watch a video about Project Echo.
A unique model fosters knowledge-sharing for communities
Teach, teach, learn, learn. That is the model
providing insights or guidance. Following the
ECHO, the recorded didactic portion is archived for
broader access, and a list of resources related to
the topic is made openly available.
Anyone may attend an ECHO session, and the
Kathleen Broglio, DNP
program is structured to be interprofessional
(inclusive of all disciplines), aiming to bring
together clinical and community partners to plan,
provide and participate in collaborative education.
Because the sessions are held virtually, participants
can join from around the country and the world.
For Broglio, being involved in the Palliative Care ECHO has been
very fulfilling. " It has been one of the highlights of my career to
be able to put together a high-quality, intensive program like this
and provide interprofessional education that has been impactful
to the participants, " she says. She is particularly proud of the
faculty development component of the program spearheaded by
Larson to provide guidance to junior faculty members through
mentorship. It has also been meaningful for the core panel to
provide recommendations about challenging cases, and to see
community members be engaged and appreciative.
Volunteers
Are Needed!
The Prouty fundraising event for Dartmouth Cancer Center has hundreds of volunteer
opportunities leading up to, during, and after Prouty weekend, and we need your help!
You can help with setup, signs, registration and so much more. If you'd like to lend
a hand, check out all of our Volunteer Opportunities and sign up today.
Longtime Prouty volunteer, Kyle Koehler, left,
oversees the beverage tent at the Prouty. He is
pictured with his mother, Tracey Koehler.
Click here to view all the different volunteer dates,
FAQs, examples, and more!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Faz3O1clDMU https://getinvolved.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/site/SPageNavigator/prouty2024_volunteer.html?s_trID=2050 https://getinvolved.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/site/SPageNavigator/prouty2024_volunteer.html?s_trID=2050
Connections: June 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Connections: June 2024
