As part of the latest round of national broadband stimulus funding, more than 1,000 health centers across the country are set to benefit from ehanced efforts at electronic medical records and more accessible services. “As broadband has become more widely deployed and affordable, it has enabled things to happen,” Eric Bozich, vice president of product management at Qwest Business Markets said, according to Healthcare IT News. “It has finally reached that point of critical mass where the experience is high quality enough that people are willing to accept and adopt it. Ease of use is allowing practices, hospitals and clinics to manage and deploy telehealth in a way that is reasonable. All those things are coming together to create an environment that is realistic, affordable and practical.” Read more here.

Here is a look at some of the statewide Health IT programs benefitting from the new round of public-private partnerships:

California: Cal eConnect, the new organization overseeing California's $38.8 million health care exchange, has hired Carladenise Edwards as its new CEO. Edwards previously serve as Health IT coordinator for Georgia and as Health IT adviser to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. "I am delighted to have the opportunity to be part of the largest health information exchange effort in the country." Read more about the project here.

Georgia: The Georgia Department of Community Health and Morehouse School of Medicine are using a $19.5 million federal stimulus grant to help physicians in low-income areas across the state adopt EHRs. The funding will be used to help health care providers select EHR technology and educate staff. Read more in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution here.

Kansas: The Wichita Business Journal reports that Gov. Mark Parkinson has established an organization to help build a statewide health information exchange. The Kansas Health Information Exchange will work to establish electronic health records and ensure patient privacy. Read more here.