From the Superintendent of Nordonia Hills City Schools,
Dear Nordonia Families,
We are excited to announce the launch of school-based health through the use of telehealth.
What is School-Based Health? School-Based Health is:
- A confidential health visit with a health care provider, much like the care received at a doctor’s office.
- An intervention to increase health equity in our student population. Our school nurses can speak firsthand to the multiple barriers families have to access health care services, whether it be transportation, lack of insurance, or family work/life commitments. We want to make it easy for any student in our school to access timely care when they need it most.
- An intervention to increase student attendance. Students with minor health issues can see a provider at school, missing 15 minutes of classroom seat time as opposed to a half or full day of absence to receive medical care and treatment. Student health needs can be quickly managed, with no delay in care, getting them healthy and back to learning.
- A convenient way for parents to access care for their sick children. Imagine a student is experiencing a minor health issue (cold, flu, sore throat), quite often landing in the school nurse’s office. As the school nursing staff calls home to report student illness to the parent/guardian, we can offer these additional services to connect the student/family to a provider for a confidential health visit. The nurse will then assist the family with setting up a visit. Once parent/guardian consent is obtained, the visit will take place. Depending on the outcome, the student may return to class the same day or be sent home ill – with a treatment plan, picking up a prescription (if needed) called into the pharmacy on the way home.
This is available NOW – at all our schools, perfect timing as we enter straight into cold/flu season. Our district nurse has been trained to be a patient presenter over telehealth. The visit only requires the use of an iPad or cell phone with video capability. Although it’s similar to FaceTime, they use a HIPAA-compliant application over our school district Wi-Fi to connect students and families to an Akron Children’s Hospital provider in real time for visit completion during school.
Please see the attached INFOGRAPHICS AND FLYERS for more information. While it may not be for everyone, it will be just what is needed for those who need it most.
Below is a link to FAQs. There is no cost for participation to the school district.
https://www.akronchildrens.org/departments/School-Health-Services.html#tab_customtab1
As always, thanks for your continued support of the Nordonia Schools, and Go Knights!
Sincerely,
Joe Clark, Ph.D.
Superintendent
