Dublin schools to provide free health care for students

The Dublin City Schools plans to offer health care to students and staff through telehealth services at school nursing stations, while also converting classroom spaces at Moore Street School into a health clinic.

Superintendent Fred Williams told the City Board of Education earlier this week that the system received two grants to pay for the program – $682,000 for supplies, staffing and transportation and $308,000 to cover construction costs.

“There will be a nurse practitioner who will be participating with our nurses. Kids do not have to go to Moore Street to be seen. They will be seen in clinics with telehealth, with the nurses facilitating,” Williams said.

Officials plan for the clinic to be open on school days in the fall from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“It’d going to be a good thing  for us because we believe that more kids are going to be in school. receiving that quality health care, so we’re excited about that,” Williams told the board. 

“Some kids won’t have to leave their schools because they’ll be at the nursing stations and they can do the telehealth there. … Staff will be able to be seen, telehealth-wise, as well, or either at the clinic.”

The school system has reached out to local primary care physicians, seeking participation.

“No doctor is losing their patients,” Williams said. “For some of our kids that we serve, their doctor is the emergency room, so the hospital is involved in this process.” 

Board Chairman John Bell has “been big in this” and attended previous planning meetings, the superintendent said.

“I’m real excited about what’s going on at Moore Street. We watched a demonstration on the telehealth. It was really amazing what all you can do now. The doctor was looking at his ear drum, I could see his ear drum, and he was down theire in Waycross.” 

Williams said the board will eventually be asked to approve a memorandum of understanding once one is reached and reviewed by an attorney.

“We have received $308,000 (in) construction grants, for building out those rooms where we hope it will be more like a doctors’ facility there at Moore Street, to see patients who have to go there.” 

The larger grant for supplies and staff also can be used to transport sick students to the new clinic, Williams said.

“Built in that $682,000 also is transportation costs, should we have to bus students there and that type of thing.”

Also at Monday’s meeting, the school board approved its financial report for February. The system has collected more than $10 million in local tax revenues, said Chad McDaniel, the schools’ executive director of business operations, which helped it end the month with a balance of $3.9 million.

The board also approved several personnel changes:

•New hires: Amber Gaillard, paraprofessional, Leaping Leprechauns Learning Academy;LLA; Brea Moody, teacher, Susie Dasher;

Jasmyn Mikel, academic coach, Susie Dashr;Pamela Calloway, counselor, Dublin Middle

DMS

•Transfers: Lynne Blackburn, paraprofessional, LLLA, to bookkeeper, Dublin High

•Resignations: Rodriques Floyd, environmental specialist, DHS; Scott Pagano, physical education teacher, DHS.