CRAWFORD COUNTY, Ind — Rural Crawford County has one of the largest geographical school districts in Indiana.
That means getting to a doctor’s appointment and school in the same day can be difficult for students.
But a new telehealth option can take away that burden.
Students can go into the nurse’s office and see a doctor through a computer screen.
“Through our hands, we’ll be able to communicate with them,” said Crawford County Middle and High School Nurse Kim Allen. “They’ll be able to tell us when to use an otoscope, be able to check for ear infections, things of that nature.”
The Indiana Rural School Clinic Network funded a telehealth system called TytoCare for three schools in the Crawford Country Community School district.
“It is easier, more convenient,” Harrison County Hospital Nurse Practitioner Michelle Schear said.
Health professionals like Shear are on the other end of the screen. The system will take a burden off parents, who might have to take off work to bring their child to the doctor and keep kids in school.
“Within the school system, children lose a lot of school attendance based in illnesses,” Schear said.
Telehealth is bringing more than a convenience to the district. It’s fulfilling a need.
“Some of our students don’t have adequate healthcare and they definitely don’t have access to adequate healthcare,” Allen said.
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