GREENSBORO, N.C. — Guilford County Schools is building community partnerships and finding new ways to provide better student resources.
That's where telehealth is coming into play and it's helping with absenteeism.
Danielle Mack is a third-grade teacher at Peck. Her son also goes to school there.
Telehealth was implemented back in February.
"I didn't sign up at first and I'm not gonna say I didn't see the value because it's very valuable but I'm here at the school, so I said I'll just give him medicine if he needs it," said Mack. "Of course, I forgot his medicine that day and it was very convenient. I was very happy that I was able to use the telehealth service as a backup because I did not have the medication that he needed."
Mack said it was fast and effective to use the service.
"About 15 minutes later he was so much better and fine," said Mack. "Had I not had that service it would have been a whole process of trying to get him some medicine."
Mack appreciates knowing there's someone there to step in.
"Now you have that assurance that you can send them to the nurse, she can look them over quickly, and assess what's going on and what further needs to happen," Mack said.
Peck Elementary School Principal, Ashley Triplett, said it's a partnership with the district, Guilford Education Alliance, and Cone Health.
"We don't necessarily have to stop what we're doing as educators to attend the medical needs," said Triplett. "There's somebody right here that can do that."
The school is one of 14 schools with the services. 12 more schools will be added in the next year.
Here's how it works.
A Cone Health Certified Medical Assistant, or CMA, works during the entire school day.
If a parent gives consent for the telehealth service, when a student has a medical issue, the CMA determines if the student needs a virtual doctor visit.
If that is the case, the parent will be called, along with a doctor.
"Students are able to stay in school, parents are able to stay at work, and it's just been really positive for our school community," said Triplett.
Triplett said it helps with attendance, too.
"What you don't see are students that leave early in the afternoon, right after that half-day cutoff, so they may be counted present for the day, but then they still may leave by lunchtime and then they miss instruction that afternoon," she said. "I've certainly seen students staying in school."
In the district, about 40% of families gave consent to use the service. Getting consent and finding space are among the challenges GCS Chief of Exceptional Children and Student Service, Kimberly Steinke, said they are working to overcome.
"We can go into one school, and they might have a space right there available close to the office or close to the area where the traffic comes and it can be easy, but we go to other places and all they literally have is a six-by-six closet," said Steinke.
Right now, telehealth is being funded through the Guilford Education Alliance, private donors, and grant funding.
The district hopes that state funding will eventually step in to help, so it's not just going to high-poverty areas, but to all schools.
"There's a critical role that we can play in that accessibility, especially for some of our families that struggle with that option, so telehealth is just a strong piece of that," said Steinke.
In Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, they have telehealth services in seven schools.
It's paid for through a grant and while they want to keep the services, they will need to find other funding options.
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