REMEC TeleHealth Network, a Munson Healthcare initiative, is an interactive videoconferencing consortium, made up of a diverse collection of healthcare providers located in the eastern upper peninsula and across lower northern Michigan.

The Interactive Videoconferencing Consortium was formed in 1993 with funding by the US Department of Health and Human Services to deliver Emergency Medical Service (EMS) educational programs to EMS volunteers and professionals across rural regions of northern Michigan.

REMEC initially stood for Rural Emergency Medical Education Consortium.  As members expanded use of network capabilities for other medical education, administrative meetings, physician grand rounds and telemedicine activities, the name was changed in 1999 to REMEC TeleHealth Network.  This name change better reflects the plethora of activity taking place over the network without losing the recognition the REMEC acronym has built.

REMEC is set up as a 501 C(3) corporation with a thirteen member Advisory Board of Directors.

Technical Information

The technical software and hardware serving as the network hub consists of a Polycom MGC 100 multi-point bridge controlled by Polycom's MGC Manager.  A Polycom V2IU and SE200 serve as gatekeepers and firewall traversal systems allowing inbound and outbound IP connections.

Member sites connect to the network by dedicated telecommunications circuits, and can itilize the network for voice, data, and video applications.

System Utilization

From 1994 through 2006, REMEC has provided over 9,600 programs to over 40,000 participating sites involved.  This has provided over 28,000 hours of programming broadcasts over the REMEC TeleHealth Network.  With the installation of the new video bridge in October of 2006, and the addition of IP connectivity, REMEC expects these numbers to increase dramatically over the next year.