School-based virtual clinic improves children's access to care

[MUSIC Atrium Health logo]

[Valerie O'Kelley, PHD, EDD, Principal, Graham Elementary] Graham Elementary is located within Cleveland County in Shelby North Carolina. We don't have a doctor in every corner, so having a program here like virtual clinic helps our children to feel even safer at school.

In order to educate children, they have to feel safe first. You have to have those basic needs met. They will tell you what's wrong with them. They are able to see the nurse immediately, and the nurse, if she needs to go further, the virtual clinic is right there.

[Detra Rice, Darihanna's mother] My daughter has chronic asthma. Before this virtual clinic, about three to four times a week, I have to go pick her up and it wasn't under control then. So now that we have the virtual clinic, I haven't went to go to the school to pick her up at all. It really helped me out and her.

[Patricia Grinton, MD, Director of Atrium Health Levine Children's Shelby Children's Virtual Clinic] It's really difficult if you're a working parent to make an appointment for a rash or sore throat and so we thought that perhaps we can help the families out, help our community out, help minimize ED utilization for things that really don't need to ED any that really just need access during working hours.

[Darihanna Ussery, student] Usually I always go to the nurse and just take a breathing treatment. I take the asthma pump again after a couple of minutes and if that don't work, I have to go home.

Now that I don't get out of school a lot, I get to take tests, get extra time and now I'm making great grades.

[Valerie] Parents would pick them up last year but now instead of having to pick them up, they're able to be seen by the nurse, be seen by a doctor virtually. In many cases, the children are able to actually stay. With that, attendance is better, chronic illness is much better managed, you have less ER visits.

[John Smith, MD, CPC, Medical Director of Quality Based Network, Blue Cross NC] One of the focus areas of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is pediatric care. Now we realize not everybody's got equal access to resources for medical care.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is investing 750 thousand dollars over a three-year time frame to the virtual clinic program actually helps ensure the children of Shelby North Carolina are able to have good quality care regardless of their socio-economic barriers they may have.

[Patricia] Maybe the child that night had an earache, mom writes a little note to their teacher and says could you please have my child evaluated in a virtual clinic. That child makes their way to the school nurse, the school nurse reaches out to our teller presenter, I or my pediatrician colleagues enter our virtual room. We also take the heart, the lungs, as we're talking to families we say “oh sure enough that is a left-side ear infection. Let me call some amoxicillin." You wanted it called into a particular pharmacy, so I'll go ahead and get that filled and send that over.

[Detra] I'm very grateful for Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina to invest in this virtual clinic. It really has benefited not only my daughter, but also it's saving me time and money, so I'm grateful for the investment that they are investing in this virtual clinic.

[CLOSING TEXT] Atrium Health Foundation would like to thank Blue Cross Blue Sheild of North Carolina for supporting Atrium Health Levine Children's.