Beginning Monday, Feb. 2, Jones-Wheat Elementary and West Bainbridge Elementary students can enroll in Decatur County’s new TeleHealth program.
Memorial Hospital and Manor and Decatur County School System were awarded a $60,000 grant in September 2014 by the Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth to install two school-based health clinics in the schools.
Parents of students at those schools can enroll their children during one of the multiple enrollment sessions next week. Those sessions are: Monday at Jones-Wheat at 6 p.m., Tuesday at West Bainbridge at 7 p.m., Wednesday at Jones-Wheat at 8:15 a.m. and Thursday at West Bainbridge at 9 a.m. Parents can attend any session regardless of the school the child attends. A student must opt in to participate in the voluntary program. The enrollment packet, completed by a legal guardian, will include: student information sheet, medical history, authorization to bill insurance, copy of insurance cards, lab and HIPPA consent form and a TeleHealth consent and payment authorization form.
A school-based clinic is a student health clinic that operates out of the school nurses’ office. They will offer: care for acute illness (sore throat, skin rash), minor injuries (scrapes and muscle strains), management of ongoing care of existing medical conditions, monthly medication management, lab tests and access to physician specialists.
The school nurses will be trained to use multiple TeleMedicine tools that will allow a Memorial Pediatrics physician to hear or see what the nurse hears or sees.
The expanded services are made possible through the ability for students to be seen by a physician virtually via a real-time computer linkage. Parents are encouraged to attend the appointments, but it is not required, however, parents will be notified before scheduling physician appointments.
If the doctor orders labs, the parent will have to take the student to Memorial Hospital to have them completed. Strep, flu and urine analysis tests will be performed at the school clinic. If the doctor prescribes medication, the medication will be e-scribed to the pharmacy of parent’s choice. Pickup and payment will be the responsibility of parent.