Back to the Classroom

At-school Virtual Care Visits Help Mitigate Missed Class Time

Now available district wide for the second school year, Norman Public Schools Student Health Services is once again partnering with Norman Regional and Norman Regional Health Foundation to offer Norman Regional Kids Virtual Care. The program allows students the opportunity to meet with a healthcare provider without needing to leave school.

Parents can even attend the virtual visit without leaving work.

“As a district, we are always looking for ways to improve healthcare equity,” shared registered nurse Mollee Speichinger. “Our services provide students access to medical professionals that they might not have outside of school for a variety of reasons.”

Students first see their school’s on-site medical professional – each school in the district has a fulltime medical professional. The school nurses have been specifically trained to recognize symptoms that are well-suited to be diagnosed via a virtual visit. If it is determined that a student might benefit from a virtual visit, a parent is contacted. If the parent wishes to proceed, an appointment request is made.

“Norman Regional KIDS Virtual Care works us into their schedule and usually the wait time is about 1015 minutes,” Speichinger said. “Parents can watch the visit virtually if they would like.”

Using a digitally connected TytoCare device, a local pediatrician can evaluate the child. They can listen to a child’s lungs, look into their ears and/or throat, visually assess rashes, and more.

“We are able to test for things like strep, COVID and the flu, and get those results quickly,” Beth Roberson, NPS’s director of health services said.

The provider can determine if a prescription is needed and whether or not the student should return to class.

Bryce Ell, ambulatory optimization manager for Norman Regional, said that the program’s first year had positive results.

“83% of parents whose student used the program reported they believe their student was able to get back to school quicker because of the virtual care program,” Ell revealed.

200 families enrolled in the program last school year and Roberson would like to see that number increase.

“We have 16,500 students so we want to see our enrollment skyrocket to reach more kids,” she said. “The biggest benefits of the virtual care program are reducing missed class time and work time, and early intervention will help us mitigate the spread of illness.”

The virtual care program is optional, and families can enroll at any time during the school year. Enrollment is good for the entire school year, including summer school, so Roberson encourages families to sign up while they are filling out other back-to-school paperwork.

Norman Regional will bill your medical insurance. For example, SoonerCare will cover the virtual care visit. If you do not have insurance, the cost of the visit is $60. Enrollment can be accessed electronically at NPS’s health services webpage or at normanregional.com/ services/virtual-care-norman-regional-kids-virtual-care.

The virtual care program and the on-site, full-time medical professionals at each school are possible thanks to a partnership between Norman Public Schools, Norman Public Schools Foundation and Norman Regional Health Foundation. The foundations purchased the TytoCare devices used in the virtual visits and contributes to the annual cost to provide student health services.

“Thanks to (this partnership), NPS is a leader in student health,” Roberson said. “We were just overwhelmed to get this opportunity because we want to ensure that our students are healthy, and this is a great resource.” – BSM