A Doctor in the School Nurse’s Office? Bringing a Virtual School Based Program into Practice

Saturday, May 4, 2024

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM ET

Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre: 709

CE: Live CME: 1.5

Leader(s)

Honora Burnett, MD MPP (she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Denver Health and Hospital Authority and University of Colorado School of Medicine
Denver, Colorado, United States

Co-Leader(s)

SN

Steve North, MD MPH (he/him/his)

Center for Rural Health Innovation
Spruce Pine, North Carolina, United States
Sonja O’Leary, MD (she/her/hers)

Director of Service Outpatient General Pediatrics, Denver Health
University of Colorado
denver, Colorado, United States
Stormee Williams, MD MBA FAAP (she/her/hers)

Chief Health Equity Officer
Children's Health
Dallas, Texas, United States

Slides
Andrea Boudreaux, PsyD MPH MHA FACHE (she/her/hers)

Executive Director
Children's National Hospital
Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Slides

Disclosure(s):

Honora Q. Burnett, MD MPP: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Steve North, MD MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Sonja O’Leary, MD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Stormee Williams, MD MBA FAAP: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Andrea J. Boudreaux, PsyD MPH MHA FACHE: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Workshop

Description: Youth face many barriers when accessing health services, including poverty, cultural and linguistic challenges, lack of insurance, socioeconomic status and transportation barriers.1 Utilizing school nurse facilitated telemedicine visits can allow students to surmount these barriers, connecting students with pediatricians to diagnose and treat children in school. These School Based Health Center Virtual Care Programs (SBHC VCPs) allow students to stay in school and continue learning, parents to stay at work and continue working, and pediatricians to forge strong community connections. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has endorsed the use of school-based telemedicine as a method for engaging children with chronic diseases in care.2 In addition, the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) has endorsed school-based telemedicine as a powerful tool that can enhance school and community health services.3 Studies have shown that virtual healthcare may reduce school absences and increase educational attainment. 4 Also, school-aged children with additional access to virtual healthcare at school are associated with improved overall health and educational outcomes.4 Existing SBHC VCPs can provide a novel model for providing healthcare to students.
Workshop leaders from four institutions have successfully developed virtual programs to reach students in schools, and will share these innovative models. Program components include medical doctors (MD) and advanced practice providers (APPs), school nurses, school leadership and program support staff.

This workshop provides an opportunity for participants seeking to increase their knowledge of how to form a SBHC VCPs, and action plan to address barriers to identifying, supporting, and treating children virtually.

Learning Objectives:

Describe barriers students and parents face in accessing healthcare in school and how that affects attendance in school and work.
Describe facilitated virtual care models to address health concerns in schools.
Translate these example models into their own communities, recognizing barriers and opportunities unique to their own environment.