Telemedicine Coming to Guilford County Schools
The expansion will improve academics and children’s health.
Greensboro – A telemedicine program aimed at elementary school students will expand into 48 more Guilford County Schools. Guilford County Commissioners voted to expand the program by appropriating $2.2 million of American Rescue Plan Act funding to school telehealth. The telehealth program’s goal is to provide medical care to students to avoid children missing the rest of the day’s classes over minor health concerns.
Bluetooth Devices
Keeping kids in school is vitally important. American Family Physician finds that frequently missing classes can be linked to poor academic performance, higher rates of not finishing school, social problems and poorer health. In a Cone Health pilot program last year, 300 children received care in their school’s virtual clinic. Of those 300, 240 returned to their classroom the same day. Without telemedicine services, all 300 would have been sent home, missing the rest of the school day.
"This is the most excited I've been in my entire 31-year career, and I cannot wait to get this work expanded to more schools," said Dr. John Jenkins, who leads the school telehealth program for Cone Health. "In fact, within minutes of the Guilford County Commission vote, I had already submitted the paperwork to start hiring additional telepresenters.”
These visits can avoid that call to parents to pick us a student for a headache or stomach ache. A trained telepresenter arranges a virtual visit with a pediatrician or family medicine provider over a computer. A child's parent or guardian can take part either over the phone or in the video connection. The telepresenter helps the physician remotely examine the child using Bluetooth connected devices that can see inside the ear or throat or listen to the heart and lungs. This allows the problem to be diagnosed and the child to return to class.
“Guilford County Schools is excited to expand our partnership with Cone Health and the Guilford Education Alliance. We know barriers to health care access can impact a child’s ability to learn and grow. The expansion of telemedicine to all Title I elementary schools is another excellent resource to help keep our students healthy and in the classroom. We are grateful to the Guilford County Commissioners for helping us expand this service to our students and families,” says Guilford County Schools Superintendent Dr. Whitney Oakley.
With this expansion, all 51 Title I elementary schools in Guilford County will have telemedicine services. Title 1 schools were selected for the program due to their limited resources and high rates of medical call outs. Services should begin in those schools over the next several years.
Cone Health's Philanthropy team is working with area foundations and corporate sponsors to secure the additional funding necessary to expand this program into all 51 Title I elementary schools in Guilford County as well as to sustain this program in the long-term.
