Number of school health clinics grows

Jan. 26—GUILFORD COUNTY — Eight of Guilford County's low-income schools, including three in High Point, now have health clinics electronically connected to Cone Health medical offices, and by mid-March six more will, including two more in High Point.

The effort began two years ago as a way to address both students' health and their academic performance, according to a press release from the Guilford Education Alliance, a partner in the telehealth initiative. Before telehealth, students would have to leave school and parents would miss time at work when a student was sick. Missed learning time quickly adds up and affects how well the student does. With telehealth in schools, a student with a sore throat, cough, earache, stomachache or other minor ailment can be seen at the telehealth clinic.

During a virtual visit, a certified medical assistant at the school connects the student and their parent with a Cone Health doctor. The CMA is authorized to give the student medication. In most cases, students can return to class.

With a donation of $250,000, the Foundation for Healthy High Point was the first private funder to support Guilford County Schools' initiative, which is being done in partnership with GEA and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, to extend telehealth clinics to all 51 of its Title 1 elementary schools.

Curtis Holloman, the executive director of the Foundation of Healthy High Point, said that supporting the telehealth initiative was a no- brainer.

"Providing a link to health care that keeps kids in school and helps parents stay at work just makes good sense," Holloman said. "We wanted to ensure that Title 1 schools in High Point were among the early demonstration sites because this initiative is a game-changer."

While school-based telehealth isn't new, the focus on Title 1 schools makes the Guilford County initiative stand out, GEA said. Schools are classified as Title 1 when at least 52% of the school's families are low-income. Chronic absenteeism, defined as missing 10% or more of instructional time, is common in Title 1 schools and is often tied to a host of issues, including access to health care, and it contributes to reduced academic performance, said Karen Hornfeck, interim president of GEA.

"We ask a lot of our educators, but they can't do this work alone," she said. "Our community is coming together to help remove significant barriers to learning, and the telehealth initiative is an example of the transformative impact of collaboration."

In High Point, telehealth clinics are currently open at Union Hill, Parkview Village and Kirkman Park, and by mid-March clinics will open at Oak Hill and Fairview.

The first clinic, at Bessemer Elementary in Greensboro, saw 300 students in its first year, 240 of whom were able to return to class after their visit. Principal Jonathan Brooks said that that last year the school had a 91% average attendance rate, its highest since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of students leaving school early decreased by 15%.

"I absolutely see the difference in our school with telehealth in place," he said.