School-Based Telehealth Clinic Formally Opens At Rising Sun Schools

Friday, September 28, 2018 at 8:37 AM

By Indiana Rural School Clinic Network, news release

Rising Sun Schools join South Ripley in adding technology to help puts ill students in touch with a doctor without leaving school.

(Rising Sun, Ind.) - Students and staff at Rising Sun Schools can now benefit from innovative high-tech telehealth as part of the Indiana Rural School Clinic Network’s (IRSCN) expansion to the region.

“To be able to leverage state-of-the-art digital medical diagnostic technology on behalf of our students and staff represents a new dimension of service,” said Branden Roeder, Superintendent of the Rising Sun-Ohio County Community School Corporation. “This secure telehealth technology provides for an exceptional match with the excellent medical resources at Highpoint Health and Highpoint Health Physician Partners, presenting students and parents with a variety of important benefits. We are also extremely pleased that Family Medicine Physician Dr. Chris Walcott of Highpoint Health Rising Sun Family Medicine has agreed to be the medical provider for the program.”

Students from pre-school through 12th grade and staff will now have the opportunity to be “seen” by a healthcare provider, via telehealth technology, without leaving the schools’ campus. Digital diagnostic equipment, including a digital stethoscope and sensors, will transmit the patient’s vital signs and other data through secure broadband connectivity from the school to Highpoint Health Rising Sun Family Medicine.

This data, in addition to their conversation with and visualization of the patient, will be used to assist the linking physician in making an initial diagnosis. School nurses and related staff have also been trained on the proper use of the equipment at the school.

“Our goal is to get students healthier quicker and remove any barriers to accessing primary care, especially in rural areas,” said Kathleen Chelminiak, Indiana Rural Health Association Project Director.

To celebrate the opening of the new Clinic, which is located in the Ohio County Elementary School, a ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Friday, September 28, at 10:00 a.m., EDT, at the school with education, healthcare and agency officials and administrators in attendance. The Ohio County Elementary School is located at 436 S. Mulberry Street, Rising Sun, Indiana.

“We at Highpoint Health and Highpoint Health Rising Sun Family Medicine appreciate the opportunity to work with the Rising Sun-Ohio County Community School Corporation and the IRSCN to implement this important program,” added Michael Schwebler, President and CEO of Highpoint Health. “Through this program, we are better able to provide convenient and timely access to quality care for students and staff, resulting in better outcomes for individual patients, as well as better overall health for the school’s student and adult population.”

“Using telehealth technology to connect students with medical professionals brings a new level of services – a parent can connect to their child’s medical visit without leaving work and we can address acute medical care issues as they arise within the school day,” said Mr. Roeder. “As superintendent of a school system that draws on a rural and sparsely populated geographic area, I see this as a distinct advantage for our students.”

By utilizing this newly acquired telehealth technology, care providers at Highpoint Health Rising Sun Family Medicine are able to evaluate, diagnose and provide initial treatment with the help of the on-site school nurse, Jamie Works, RN, and other trained school personnel. In addition, the physician conducting the telehealth diagnostic session can also directly send follow-up information to the child’s personal physician and with prior parental approval, prescriptions to the student’s pharmacy.

To participate, students must have prior parental/guardian consent. Provider fees will be billed to the student’s insurance company.

The ribbon-cutting celebration, which is open to the public, will include live demonstrations of the high-tech telehealth equipment to be used in the school clinic, including the stethoscope, dermascope and otoscope, in addition to customized video equipment and software platforms.

Participants at the ribbon-cutting will include Mr. Roeder; Mr. Schwebler; Dr. Walcott; Ms. Chelminiak; Ms. Works; Jack Lillie, Director of IT for Rising Sun-Ohio County Schools and others associated with the project.

The clinic is the result of Rising Sun-Ohio County Schools partnering with Highpoint Health in the submission of a grant to the Indiana Rural Health Association for the funding and program support necessary to establish the clinic. Funding for the clinic grant was provided through a larger Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant made available to the Indiana Rural Health Association and is now part of the Indiana Rural Schools Clinic Network (IRSCN).

“Accessing healthcare in rural areas of Indiana is often more difficult because of factors such as poverty, transportation and in some situations, provider shortages. Through this innovative approach of incorporating telehealth into the school setting, we are confident children will receive quality healthcare that is more easily accessible. Parents won’t have to take time off work, struggle with getting an appointment with their doctor or worry about transportation issues,” said Don Kelso, IRHA Executive Director.