Who we are

A small organization, so far, but… all of our 3 board members have extensive credentials for addressing the ever-growing challenges of home health technology use, with combined experience in telehealth spanning more than 50 years. Meet us:

Audrey Kinsella

  • Audrey Kinsella, MA, MS, director of HTSI, is a medical research librarian and writer, who has been actively involved in researching, writing, and speaking about home telehealthcare for the past 14 years. She
  • designed the home telehealth and other segments of the National Library of Medicine-sponsored web site, the Telemedicine Information Exchange (http://tie.telemed.org ) in 1994-95;
  • was director of information services for 10 home telehealth programs at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Washington, DC between 1999-2001;
  • developed informational web sites on home telediabetes and teledialysis for the Georgetown Medical School;
  • designed/wrote the “Tomorrow’s Tools” segment of the Robert Wood Johnson-sponsored end of life care web site, “Last Acts;” and
  • researched and wrote 6 books and manuals and more than 150 published articles on home telehealth and telehospice.

Audrey Kinsella notes: ”For years, my goal has been to make the idea of telehealth better known to many clinicians, teachers, and students of the field through writing and speaking; and rather than promote any one company, the intention has been to “sell” the idea of home telehealthcare.”

Jim Hutchinson

  • Jim Hutchinson, MD, now includes board member to his very long list of participation in matters related to telemedicine. Jim’s long years of activity in telemedicine, include being the
  • founding member and chairman of the Georgia Telemedicine Association, 1997-2001;
  • moderator and organizer of the Georgia Telemedicine Task Force, 1993-2000; and
  • moderator for the regular telemedicine teleconferences broadcast throughout North America, as programmed by the Association of Telehealth Service Providers.

He is currently working with the American Telemedicine Association’s special interest group (SIG) devoted to Tele-Home Care and the standards issues. He is also involved with the ATA's Tele-ICU discussion group.

Here is Jim’s take on how his development of telemedical/telehealth interests came to be:

After attending an introductory session on Telemedicine by Jay Sanders in 1992 at the Medical College of Georgia, I shared his vision that this evolving technology offered the primary answer as to how the Medical industry might respond to its most recent challenge. That challenge being, how to offer quality medical care to more individuals in the face of reduced reimbursement per unit of care delivered. This prompted my active membership into Telemedical activities. The misunderstanding and disinterest in this technology by medical providers, administrators, legislators, and the general public stimulated further effort. Response to my related publications emphasized this disinterest. However, the TELNET TELEMEDICINE JOURNAL series, which I moderated via the Georgia Hospital Association’s educational TELNET, brought together an enthusiastic international audience from varying fields, all interested in seeing greater application of these enabling technologies.

Linda Pearce

Linda C. Pearce, RN, C, BSN, MEd., CDE, now includes board member to her very long list of participation in matters related to home care and nursing activities, particularly work focused on diabetes education and care. Specifically, she has 40+ years of experience as a professional nurse and is nationally certified in home care, as a pediatric nurse practitioner, and as a diabetes educator. Her focus on assisting people to live well with diabetes has taken on use of telehealth as a potential assister – new technologies and reminder systems are among the tools that are much needed to help; and she routinely takes opportunities to introduce and promote these tools.

Her work is widely known: Linda has been a

  • presenter at national and international meetings for the World Congress on Home Care and Hospice, the National Association for Home Care NAHC), the Home Healthcare Nurses Association (HHNA), the Visiting Nurse Association of America (VNAA), the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE), the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi (DFM). Virginia Department of Education School Nurses, and other organizations.
  • Faculty member at the University of Virginia and at the University of Mississippi, and
  • Instructor of diabetes courses for professionals and people living with diabetes in MS, AL, LA, MD, VA, NY, MO, KY, PA, and Kiev, Ukraine.
  • Developer of a diabetes education and management program in Blacksburg, VA which has been “Nationally Recognized” since June 2006.; and h er reference book: Handbook of Diabetes Education and Management in Homecare: A Handbook for Nurses is used in many homecare agencies.

Among Linda’s many other writing and editorial achievements are these: she has produced numerous journal articles, and she was guest editor of the June 2004 issue of the peer reviewed journal, Home Healthcare Nurse, which was dedicated to diabetes.