ORANGE CO. – Paoli-based Southern Indiana Community Health Care is working to establish in-school telehealth clinics in Orange County schools.
Southern Indiana Community Health Care (SICHC) is a faith-driven, nonprofit, Federally Qualified Community Health Center (FQHC) committed to providing a broad spectrum of primary health care and integrated behavioral health to the families and communities of South-central Indiana.
Using CARES Act funding for COVID-19, SICHC purchased digital equipment required for the clinics in the area schools and provided training for school nurses. The secure digital diagnostic equipment allows SICHC medical professionals to conduct examinations with students through a secure link.
The first clinics will be held at Throop Elementary School in Paoli. The telehealth clinic services will expand to Springs Valley Community Schools in French Lick and Orleans Community Schools at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year. Advance parental registration for the service will be open at all school sites in Orange County this summer.
Parents will be given the option of joining any medical session by phone. Parents must also provide permission in advance for their child to be seen through the telehealth clinic. SICHC will provide a written summary of the session to both the school nurse and parents.
No student will be denied service because of an inability to pay. Services provided at the school-based clinic will be billed to the family’s insurance. If a family does not have medical insurance, parents will be referred to a SICHC certified insurance navigator to explore options.
If a student becomes ill while at school, they can report it to the school nurse, then the nurse will set up a direct medical treatment through the SICHC professional.
Dr. Yolanda Yoder, SICHC medical director, says the equipment provides a virtual stethoscope allowing providers to listen to the heart, lung, and abdominal sounds and provide live images of what the school nurse is seeing in the student’s eyes, nose, and mouth.
Diagnosis and treatment for acute illness and minor injuries, as well as limited laboratory testing and behavioral health services, are available. Any prescriptions made during a virtual visit can be sent to a parent’s preferred local pharmacy for later pickup by a parent.
Information: Southern Indiana Business Report.
