Telehealth Coming to Another Rural School
The opening at South Ripley Elementary School is part of the Indiana Rural School Clinic Network's expansion.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSouth Ripley Community Schools will Thursday afternoon cut the ribbon on a telehealth clinic at a Versailles elementary school. The clinic will give students access to healthcare services from Batesville-based Margaret Mary Health.
The opening at South Ripley Elementary School is part of the Indiana Rural School Clinic Network’s expansion. School leaders say the service allows students to receive initial diagnosis and treatment from a medical professional with the help of an on-site school nurse. It also lets them send follow-up information to children’s physicians and local pharmacies.
School telehealth clinics have become a growing trend in Indiana as providers look to find ways to increase access for students in rural areas. Indiana Rural Health Association Executive Director Don Kelso says the technology lets students get care without parents having to take time off work, schedule appointments or worry about transportation issues. In a news release, he says it allows children to "receive quality healthcare that is more accessible to them than it ever has (been) before."
The school will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the clinic Thursday at 5:00 p.m. South Ripley Community School Corporation Superintendent Rob Moorehead and Margaret Mary Health Hospital CEO Tim Putnam will be among those taking part.