With the goal of providing greater access to quality healthcare, the University of California and a coalition of healthcare, technology and government agencies are launching the California Telehealth Network, and UC Irvine is playing a key role in its development. To demonstrate the power of the state’s new digital highway, Dr. Ira Lott (pictured), pediatrics professor and director of telemedicine for UC Irvine Healthcare, and Dr. Gail Fernandez, psychiatry associate professor, will participate in a Sacramento press conference Tuesday, Aug. 17, from campus through a network in the new medical education building’s telemedicine center. CTN will allow patients in rural and underserved areas of California to receive the specialty care they need and will connect more than 300 California healthcare facilities and 800 California healthcare providers to a statewide and nationwide broadband network of healthcare and emergency services. UCI has been at the forefront of telemedicine, using the technology to consult with patients throughout the state and to train medical students.