Briane became an RN in 2013 and began working in a rural Wyoming community mental health center (as well as in the county jail). Part of her job was to facilitate telehealth visits between local
patients and remote psychiatric prescribers. During the 7 years in that role, she was fortunate to work with 5 brilliant psychiatric nurse practitioners and one delightful psychiatrist; all but one were located outside the state of Wyoming. Telepsychiatry was all we knew, and the various challenges we faced demanded creative solutions. Through these hurdles, my professional resilience and resourcefulness in the face of limitations crystallized. I have immense hope that I will be able to improve access to psychiatric care in WY through telehealth.
This month, the Wyoming Telehealth Consortium is welcoming Dr. Paul Johnson to his new role as the Medicaid Medical Director for the state of Wyoming. A longtime champion of telehealth and former Wyoming Medical Society president, Dr. Johnson has been appointed as the chairperson for the Wyoming Telehealth Consortium and will be leading our work into the future. He grew up in Laramie, Wyoming and graduated from Laramie High School in 1995. He enjoys all aspects of general ENT, and has particular interest in pediatric ENT, allergy, sinus surgery and thyroid surgery. His outside interests include travel, running, playing hockey, watching college sports and spending time with his wife and daughters. Learn more about his journey with telehealth in this month’s provider spotlight.
Philip Eskew, DO, JD, MBA began his telehealth journey as part of his medical residency program. As his time in the field has grown, he learned that telehealth is a way to reach patients when travel or in-person care is difficult to deliver. Through his work providing healthcare to prisons, he quickly learned that telehealth is a lifesaving tool for any provider. Dr. Eskew is leading the way in providing prisoners with the ethical healthcare they need by utilizing telehealth as a tool for delivery in a system where barriers to care are prevalent. Learn more about him in this month’s spotlight.
Carissa Lane, Wyoming Native, knows a thing or two about telehealth. She also has some perspective on being licensed in multiple states. The question on everyone’s mind is how do we bring our Wyoming native providers back home? Telehealth may be part of the answer.
Carissa Lane grew up in Cheyenne, WY and completed her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology & Health Promotion through the University of Wyoming. She then went on to complete her Doctoral degree in Physical Therapy from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ with honors in 2017. Carissa initially entered the PT field practicing in the inpatient rehabilitation setting, but soon transitioned into various settings including outpatient neuro, outpatient ortho, neuro wellness, and home health. She now works part time in a telehealth musculoskeletal physical therapy company and owns her own virtual wellness coaching business, Carissa Lane Wellness, specializing in burnout prevention/recovery, stress management, and holistic health for healthcare professionals. In 2022, she obtained her Integrative Nutrition Health Coaching certification and continues to prioritize lifestyle medicine with all of her patients and clients. Carissa now lives in St. Augustine, FL with her significant other and two dogs.
She is currently a licensed physical therapist in multiple states (FL, TX, PA, NY, NJ) providing musculoskeletal care to individuals who might not have access to these services otherwise, and treats health coaching clients all over the United States. While Carissa no longer lives in Wyoming, she continues to have deep connections to the state and communities, and is looking to expand her reach to help individuals in need of high quality care and support.
Dr. Jessica Poulin grew up in a rural setting outside the town of Hebron, Indiana. She and her husband, Allan, opened the first maternal fetal medicine practice organic to the state of Wyoming (Critical Perinatal Solutions) in 2022. Jessica provides clinical care and Allan runs the business. She has extensive experience caring for complex fetal patients and expectant women with high risk pregnancies. She has authored numerous research articles in peer-reviewed journals and teaches medical students from the University of Wyoming (WWAMI). When not seeing patients, Jessica enjoys spending time with her husband and their four children at their home in Laramie, cooking, traveling, and exercising.
Lacy is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has her own private practice in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She has nine years of counseling experience, and believes in a collaborative, holistic, strengths-based approach to therapy. Lacy is skilled in utilizing different therapeutic modalities to help meet the needs of her clients healing trauma, facing stress/anxiety, and walking through changes in life.
Dr. Anna Cummings Rork was born and raised in Jackson, Wyoming and knew from an early age that she wanted to be a physician. She initially pursued medicine, thinking she would do backcountry, wilderness, emergency medicine (and even graduated from the Lander NOLS Wilderness EMT program in college!). But she was drawn to know more about people, know more about their life story, to build relationships and work toward improving quality of life. Dr. Rork ultimately found her calling in psychiatry. Dr. Rork is a graduate of the Wyoming WWAMI medical program, completed residency at the University of Washington, and now practices as a board-certified psychiatrist with specialization in women’s mental health, reproductive and perinatal psychiatry. She also has additional training in different modalities of psychotherapy, including trauma-focused and psychodynamic/psychoanalytic psychotherapy. With a commitment to practice within Wyoming, Dr. Rork opened a private telepsychiatry practice that serves people across the state, and notes that it is an honor to serve.
Dr. Kilwein is a board-certified clinical psychologist practicing in California, Colorado, North Dakota, and Wyoming. They are the founder of Tess M. Kilwein, LLC, which provides clinical services, consultation, and training in the areas of trauma/PTSD, substance use/addiction, masculinity, sexuality, transgender and gender expansive healthcare, sport and performance psychology, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition to providing clinical and consultative services, they are also active in clinical research examining risk behaviors (e.g., substance use, sexual behaviors) and community activism/organizing, particularly at the intersection of mental health and physical health, identity, and policing. In Laramie, Dr. Kilwein serves on the City of Laramie Board of Health and the executive team of the Albany County Mental Health Board and Laramie Reproductive Health board of directors. Nationally, they are the Wyoming State Representative for the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Council of Representatives and a member of the APA Committee on Rural Health.
When Dr. Joe Kvedar, dermatologist and long-time telehealth champion, first heard about telehealth in 1992, there was no way for him to imagine he would be driving innovation, creating the market, and gaining acceptance for connected health for nearly three decades. In the 1990’s, to take high quality pictures for use in dermatology, it cost more than $12,000 just to purchase the right camera to use with telehealth. That same picture is now taken with a patient’s smart phone in a matter of seconds. The Wyoming Telehealth Network caught up with Dr. Kvedar, the immediate Past Chair of the Board of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), to talk about the organization’s second annual Telehealth Awareness Week and his own experiences with the ever-changing medical field. Being ahead of the curve is nothing new for Dr. Kvedar. He has been innovating in the field of telehealth since 1994 at Massachusetts General Hospital where he formed a committee to begin understanding how telehealth could be used to decrease barriers to healthcare. This led to his overseeing the program that became a best practice model for providers throughout the globe.
Sheridan Roling is a provisionally licensed clinical social worker in Laramie, Wyoming. Her areas of practice include geriatrics and mental health counseling.
