Friday, September 13, 2024
AZLE — Continuing their fruitful partnership into the new school year, Parker County Hospital Systems donated two totes full of school supplies to Liberty Elementary School last month. This gesture means students in need can benefit from extra backpacks, binders, markers, tissues and more throughout the year. This donation is a small part of a bigger philanthropic effort made by the hospital system to local schools in the last five years.
With the donation of MedPod carts and equipment in 2019, PCHS revolutionized nurse visits in the district by allowing a doctor to be virtually present in a school nurse’s offices. With the donation, schools can now not only monitor their halls, but also their students’ health. School nurses can use the tools provided to examine the ears, nose and throats of students while PCHS doctors watch using a live video feed linked to the monitor. In less than an hour, Azle ISD nurses can test students for strep throat, for example, consult with PCHS staff, administer a more extensive test if needed, receive results and prescribe medication to the student’s local pharmacy.
PCHS telemedicine can test or treat:
“I guess maybe their board decided to reach out to us because we had, at the time, two campuses that were part of (Parker) County,” registered Liberty Elementary nurse Shawna Clouatre said. “That was Cross Timbers and Silver Creek, and so they wanted us to be like an all or none. They weren't going to say, ‘oh, only those two campuses get to have telehealth …’ They provide this to us. It's actually funded by the taxpayers of Parker County. It is very fortunate that we get to participate.”
Clouatre is also in charge of Azle’s School Health Advisory Council and has been with the district for 10 years. With most of her tests only taking between five and 20 minutes, Clouatre said the longest part of the process is often waiting for parents to register their students for the first time. In order for students to be enrolled in Hornet Care, parents should reach out to their school’s nurse, otherwise, they will be asked to complete the registration through the Athena System via text before a student is seen. Students receive these services at little to no cost. Azle ISD staff also receive three free doctor’s visits using PCHS MedPods.
“Students can then see what we're seeing as well,” Clouatre said. “So, it's really educational. Well, I bet I've had plenty of students say, ‘is that my brain?’ No, that’s your tympanic membrane that we talked about. I like showing the kiddos. I'll send videos. I can record it and send it.”
Clouatre recounted her most unusual visit, where a student came in to get their ear checked out only for the nurse to discover a cockroach lodged deep inside.
One doctor and two nurse practitioners are on call at a 1115 Pecan Drive, Weatherford clinic from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every workday to remotely see patients from a variety of nonprofit and government organizations across the Parker County area. While beginning as a school-based program in 2018, it has since expanded to cover other entities.
Clouatre described a number of benefits to the system, including its ability to save time for parents and students. If a student is found to be contagious, then their parents are called, and they’re picked up soon after. Prior to leaving, tele-docs can set up a treatment plan and have students return to school as soon as the next day when possible.
“So, for the parent, if this wasn't available, they take the day off, (or a) half-day off, then you call the doctor, set up an appointment, and then the doctor sees them and wants them on meds for 24 or 48 hours before they go back to school,” Clouatre said. “That parent is missing three-and-a-half, four days of work, whereas this is just so expedited … It is nice when we're just like maybe wanting a second opinion about abdominal pain or something because I can flip this around and show my bed and (a PCHS doctor) can watch … I'm the extension of them, you know, the hands for anything that needs to be palpated. So, if you think you might have a sinus infection, you're tapping around to see if anything hurts and so with that, it's a very comprehensive exam, so it's still accurately diagnosing.”
