CAYUGA, Indiana – Students and staff at North Vermillion Community School Corporation can now benefit from innovative high-tech telehealth services as part of the Indiana Rural School Clinic Network’s (IRSCN) expansion into western rural Indiana near the Indiana-Illinois border. The new telehealth clinic will be operational at the North Vermillion Elementary School north of Cayuga, and will utilize medical providers from the Valley Professionals Community Health Center.

“North Vermillion Community Schools serve a large rural area with families living in several small towns within our district,” said Dan Nelson, Superintendent of the North Vermillion Community School Corporation. “This proven and secure remote diagnostic telehealth technology matches our students up with the excellent medical services at the Valley Professionals Community Health Center, providing students and parents with a variety of important benefits.”

To mark this critical clinic opening, a ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled to take place Friday, November 2 at the elementary school with local education and agency officials.

State-of-the-art telemedicine

The new North Vermillion service uses state-of-the-art telemedicine equipment and software to allow medical professionals to directly provide healthcare services to students. This is achieved through digital diagnostic equipment and sensors transmitting through secure broadband connectivity from the school to a medical facility operated by the Valley Professionals Community Health Center.

“This technology provides a new level of medical services that we can provide to our students onsite.  We can address acute medical care issues as they arise within the school day,” said Gina Byrum, corporation school nurse. “This is one more way our staff can help make sure our students stay healthy,” she added.

The new service available in North Vermillion allows students to be seen and receive initial diagnosis/treatment from a medical professional with minimal interruptions. Parents do not have to leave work in the middle of the day. With this technology, healthcare professionals are able to evaluate, diagnose and provide initial treatment with the help of an on-site school nurse such as Mrs. Byrum or Hope Smith. The medical professional or provider conducting the telehealth diagnostic session can also directly send follow-up information to the children’s physician and prescriptions directly to local pharmacies for pickup.

The Vermillion County facility is now part of the Indiana Rural Schools Clinic Network (IRSCN).

Participants at the opening will include Mr. Dan Nelson, North Vermillion Community School Corporation Superintendent; Gina Byrum, corporation school nurse; Hope Smith, high school nurse; Mr. Brian Byrum, Elementary Principal; Amy Clarkson, LPN, Valley Professionals Community Health Center Kathleen Chelminiak, IRHA project director; and others.

No child denied healthcare for any reason

To participate, children must have prior parent/guardian consent. Any fees are appropriately billed to insurance. No student will be denied coverage or treatment because of lack of ability to pay.

North Vermillion partnered with Valley Professionals Health Center locally to submit a grant for funding and program support from the Indiana Rural Health Association to establish this School-based Telehealth Clinic. The School-based Telehealth Clinic will also service the telehealth portion with trained medical providers available to help students experiencing acute health symptoms.

Telemedicine is defined as health care delivered remotely, often through video-conferencing equipment and patients can even get some prescriptions without an in-person visit if the student’s guardian consents to the treatment. North Vermillion students will have the opportunity to be seen by a healthcare provider who is miles away while staying at school reducing barriers for rural students when it comes to quality healthcare.

“Our goal is to get students healthier quicker and remove any barriers to accessing primary care” said Kathleen Chelminiak of the IRSCN.

The students at North Vermillion will now be able to see a doctor or medical provider through a video-conference, and the set-up includes a digital stethoscope and other tools to help a linking provider make a diagnosis. School nurses and related staff have received several hours of training on how to utilize the equipment.Accessing health care in rural areas of Indiana is more difficult because of factors like poverty, transportation and provider shortages.

“Through this innovative approach of incorporating Telehealth into the school setting, we are confident children will receive quality healthcare that is more accessible to them than it ever has before. Parents won’t have to take time off work, struggle with getting an appointment with their doctor or worry about transportation issues. They can now focus on getting their children healthier and not the limitations they often face with seeking primary care during the school day,” said Don Kelso, IRHA executive director.

The new school based telehealth clinic is funded through a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant made available to the Indiana Rural Health Association.

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About the North Vermillion Community School Corporation

For more information about the North Vermillion Community School Corporation, please visit http://www.nvc.k12.in.us/  

About Valley Professionals Community Health Center

Valley Professionals Community Health Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) dedicated to serving those in need. Whether a patient, fellow employee, local organization, or member of the community, we believe in rolling up our sleeves and lending a helping hand. Valley Professionals opened its first clinic in Clinton, Indiana in 2008, and has since grown to include five additional clinics in Montgomery, Parke, Vermillion, and Vigo counties, as well as, a Mobile School-Based Health Center that visits fourteen schools in Parke and Vermillion counties. For more information, please visit https://valleyprohealth.org/

About the Indiana Rural Health Association

The Indiana Rural Health Association was organized in 1997 and is a nonprofit organization working to enhance the health and well-being of rural populations in Indiana through leadership, education, advocacy, collaboration, and resource development. The strength of the organization is through the present diverse membership and the founding organizers who are committed to impacting the health of citizens through the identification of rural health issues and through advocacy roles in both the public and private sectors. IRHA membership is made up of 3,300 diverse individuals and organizations, making it the largest state rural health association in the nation, and a nationally recognized leader in rural health care. For more information, visit www.indianaruralhealth.org