OSCODA – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) stopped in Oscoda on Monday, Aug. 29, on his first day of his #RideMI Motorcycle Tour. Peters, an avid motorcycle rider, is riding through 26 counties and making 12 stops over five days to discuss his work on behalf of Michigan in the U.S. Senate.
Peters toured Alcona Health Center’s Oscoda clinic and received a demonstration of the telehealth services it has been providing since 2009.
He briefly met with key staff members, who thanked him for coming, emphasizing how important telehealth services have become.
Peters was on the patient end of a telehealth demonstration, consulting with Dr. Hassan Al- maat, a psychiatrist in Farming- ton Hills. Visiting a doctor via telehealth saves a patient a three- hour drive from the Oscoda area, saving precious time, pointed out Almaat.
“I’m a big supporter of telemedicine,” Peters told the physician.
Almaat said he is happy AHC has the service to provide in Northeast Michigan. Because of telehealth, Almaat said, even though he does not see the hands or feet of a patient, he does see the necessary elements of facial expressions and how a patient re- sponds to him.
Peters asked Almaat how he could help support the local service. The psychiatrist urged him to continue working with Medicare in approving increased patient care through telehealth services.
The senator, with fellow U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), introduced the Telehealth Innovation and Improvement Act in December 2015, which would pave the way for Medicare to cover additional telehealth delivery services.
Following his visit to Oscoda, Peters, a member of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, traveled to Harrisville to tour its harbor of refuge.
Peters, a former lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve and advocate for Michigan’s military installations, also met with local veterans and stopped at Camp Grayling and Wolverine Worldwide, which makes footwear for the U.S. military.