Staff & Contact Information

Debbie Voyles is the Director for Telemedicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, which is part of the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health. Debbie has been a part of the Telemedicine program since August 1998 where she started as an intern while working on her master’s degree.  Upon completion of her internship she was asked to become a part of the department and started in May 1999 as the clinic coordinator.  As clinic coordinator she was responsible for scheduling all patients being seen.  At that time there was only one community based site and twelve correctional based sites.  While clinic coordinator, she sat in on over 4200 consults, working directly with the physicians and patients.  From this she gained valuable knowledge on the types of services that could best be provided by telemedicine.  In November 2003 she became the assistant director taking over more of the day to day operations of the department.  As assistant director she continued to increase the number of consults provided in both the correctional and community based clinics as well as adding additional sites.  In May 2007 she took over as director of the department where she is responsible for the management and operations of the Center for Telemedicine. Debbie is responsible for the development and implementation of the strategic plan for the department.  Since she has been a part of the Telemedicine program, the department has focused more attention to reaching rural communities.  There have been 10 community based sites added since 1999 and the number of consults has increased 380%.

She has been given the task to expand telemedicine services in West Texas as well as develop new clinic sites.  This process involves community assessments, looking for funding options for these communities, and obtaining commitment from physicians to see these patients.  

In 2007 Debbie was appointed to the Telemedicine Advisory Committee, which was put together by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. She was elected as Vice-Chair of the committee by the other members.  As part of this committee her focus has been looking for ways to expand telemedicine usage to rural communities and providing better reimbursement from Medicaid for the services provided.  In addition to this committee she is actively involved in the American Telemedicine Association where she participates in several special interest groups.

Debbie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Lubbock Christian University and a Master of Business Administration with a certification in Health Organization Management from Texas Tech University.  She has authored and co-authored several articles on telemedicine as well as presented information about different aspects of telemedicine at several conferences.

Melanie began her career in telemedicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health as the Administrative Assistant in 2005.  She worked her way up to Unit Coordinator where she is now responsible for scheduling patients at fifteen correctional sites and assisting the Director with various projects.  Currently serving as the Vice President for the TTUHSC Staff Senate, Melanie has also been involved with the International Association for Administrative Professionals (Amarillo Chapter) where she earned the prestigious rating of Certified Professional Secretary (CPS).  Melanie has worked in an administrative/managerial capacity in various industries since 1985, but states that working in the telemedicine industry is, by far, her favorite!

Melanie shares her life with a loving husband and a beautiful daughter.  In her “spare” time, she enjoys spending time with her family, making jewelry and other various crafts, and watching college football and basketball.

Philip H. Wright is the Technology Manager for the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health, Center for Telemedicine at TTUHSC Lubbock. He plans, implements, purchases, and installs all of the Polycom High Definition Videoconferencing and Audio/Visual equipment for the group. He is also responsible for coordinating, planning, and troubleshooting the network connectivity for the Institute's 25+ Telemedicine sites.

Philip comes to TTUHSC bringing 18+ years of experience in the Professional AV business having worked as an Audio Visual Design Engineer, Programmer, and Consultant for such notable companies as AMX Corporation, SPL Integrated Solutions, The Whitlock Group, and Audio Visual Innovations. Over the years some of his clients have included The City of Houston, Goldman Sachs NYC, NASA, and Texas Instruments. Philip is also a 38+ year veteran of the Music Business as a Live and Studio Sound Engineer and Production Manager with artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan,  Reba McEntire and Restless Heart among many others.