ELWOOD, Ind. — A sick child used to mean a parent taking off work and a child missing school, but kids can now see the doctor without leaving Elwood Intermediate School.
When a child is sick at school, he or she will go to the school nurse’s office. If the nurse deems it necessary, the student can be seen by Dr. Robert Zentz of St. Vincent Medical Group with technology similar to Skype video chatting.
Elwood Community School Corporation is one of the first schools in Indiana to have a telehealth clinic. It teamed with Managed Health Services, Indiana Rural Health Association, Aspire Indiana and St. Vincent Mercy Hospital.
When a child is seen by a health provider at school, parents will be alerted to see if they would like to join.
ECSC Superintendent Chris Daughtry said he is optimistic about how students will open up to video chatting.
“They said it’s amazing how kids will open to a computer screen than having an adult sitting in the room that they don’t know,” he said. “The intimidation factor isn’t there.”
The school nurse, who is Heather Gordon at Elwood Intermediate, works as the doctor’s hands and examines the child. Gordon said the equipment used to look into the child’s ears and throat magnifies and provides a better look than the doctor might get otherwise.
