Plessen Healthcare’s Telehealth program has been seeing patients at their medical center on the Orange Grove campus since 2019. Appointments are scheduled in a dedicated examination room outfitted with equipment and technology that makes it possible for patients on St Croix to receive specialized medical care by doctors at locations across the globe.
Rheumatologist Dr. Malgorzata Dawiskiba began seeing patients at the end of December 2019 via Telemedicine at Plessen. Dr. Dawiskiba is board certified and licensed in both Internal Medicine and Rheumatology and maintains an active rheumatological practice in Massachusetts. She was raised on St Croix and is a 1997 graduate of Good Hope School. Dr. Dawiskiba earned her medical degree from Tufts School of Medicine in Boston in 2008.
Assisting her in the examination room on St Croix is Medical Assistant, Dena Romero, who was enrolled by Plessen Healthcare to Thomas Jefferson University in Pennsylvania to receive training and certification as a Telehealth Facilitator.
The technology and equipment that has made Telemedicine possible was funded by a grant from USDA Rural Development. The Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant program helps rural communities use the unique capabilities of telecommunications to connect to each other and to the world, overcoming the effects of remoteness and low population density.