Vermont Governor Promotes Vermont’s E-State Initiative at National Technology Conference

Says Health Information Technology Key to Reducing Health Care Costs

May 31, 2007 -- Chicago, IL. – In the keynote address at a technology conference sponsored by Governing Magazine today, Vermont Governor Jim Douglas is highlighting the role of technology in reducing health care costs and promoting Vermont’s initiative to become the first state to offer residents universal access to quality data and cellular voice coverage and high-speed broadband technology—a goal Douglas says can be achieved by 2010.

Governor Douglas—who co-chairs the National Governors Association State Alliance for e-Health—said the nation’s governors recognize the critical role Health Information Technology and the electronic exchange of health information play in improving health care services and lowering costs.

“Our State Alliance for e-Health is a bi-partisan, consensus-based group formed to address the unique role states can play to facilitate the adoption of interoperable electronic health information exchange,” the Governor said. “The work of the Alliance is guided by our goal for achieving a nationwide health information network that will significantly improve health care quality and lower costs. It’s an innovative model my state is already pursuing through the Vermont Blueprint for Health.”

Governor Douglas also told conference participants that Vermont’s e-state initiative—a cornerstone of Douglas’ economic growth efforts—is a real, qualitative difference from previous telecommunications objectives.

“The e-state initiative is not about increasing our access by ‘x’ percent,” the Governor said. “It’s about achieving truly universal access to affordable broadband and wireless technology and building a telecommunications infrastructure where no one is left behind.”

To spearhead this effort, Douglas proposed—and the Vermont Legislature recently approved—creation of a Vermont Telecommunications Authority that will partner with private enterprise to build a “next generation infrastructure” that supports universal broadband and cellular coverage. The State is backing $40 million of bonding by the Authority, which Douglas says could leverage more than $200 million in private investment.

Douglas told conferees that the e-state initiative will help his sate leap ahead of the leading telecommunications systems available today. “We’re talking about new infrastructure that will form the platform for growth across every sector of our economy,” he added.

Vermont, he said, would be the first state with a true “e-government” and where every community redefines civic involvement with local blogs, online forums and real local content. The first state where every classroom has its own wiki and every student can access the library at Oxford, tour the Louvre or converse with a peer halfway around the world—all from their rural home. And the first state where entrepreneurs can experience an exceptional quality of life, all while being constantly connected to customers and markets anywhere in world.

The Governor also encouraged tech-savvy employers to come to Vermont. “Traditionally, businesses that were dependent on being close to their customers or markets required that they locate in close proximity to New York, DC, Silicon Valley or other urban areas,” Governor Douglas noted. “The e-state obliterates the old business paradigm requiring employers to be near urban hubs, and it opens the door for a rural state like ours to emerge as a magnet for companies and individuals that no longer want to fight traffic jams and smog.”

Vermonters know where the future lies, Douglas said. “We know that the innovation enabled by our e-state initiative will ensure that our economy grows stronger and our communities closer.

“It’s all about building a better Vermont and a stronger America, Douglas concluded, “where every new generation has the opportunity to be more prosperous than the generations that came before them.”

Source: Vermont Governor

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