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BizVoice/Indiana Chamber – May/June 2017
FEATURE STORY
Convenience Comes to Rural Schools
Many parents have been on the receiving end of this
call from the school nurse. Your child is complaining
of a sore throat, flu-like symptoms or another
common malady.
At a handful of schools in Indiana, that call can now
turn into immediate medical attention – instead of
waiting for Mom or Dad to arrive to take the sick
child home or to see a doctor.
Thanks to new telehealth clinics in Austin, Crothersville, Elwood
and Hanover, students there are eligible to get examined in the school
nurse’s office by a licensed health care professional – doctor or nurse
practitioner – with the use of technology similar to Skype video chatting.
The hope is it will be a welcome offering for students at rural
schools where a trip to the doctor’s office may not be a short car ride
away (or they might have to wait days to get an appointment and
possible prescription).
Bringing it to market
The Indiana Rural Health Association (IRHA) is both the primary
funder and lead organizer of the effort.
By Rebecca Patrick
TELEHEALTH
CLINICS
Elwood Intermediate School nurse Heather Gordon weighs
and checks the vitals of patients before the telehealth
exam begins with Dr. Robert Zentz, a local pediatrician.