Cumberland Family Medical Center, Inc. (CFMC, Inc.) has announced the expansion of its school based health centers in the coming 2015-16 school year through partnerships with Clinton, Adair, Casey, Cumberland, and Wayne County school districts.

School-based health centers (SBHC) complement the work of school nurses by providing a readily accessible referral site for students who are without a medical home. School nurses collaborate with SBHC to provide an array of health services to keep students healthy, in school, and ready to learn.

Onsite services include acute care visits, well child visits, physicals, and immunizations. Physical exams and immunizations are conducted by CFMC, Inc., licensed healthcare providers, during regular school hours.

Extending these services allows for the continuation of meeting the needs of the service area by providing primary patient care in an environment that focuses on prevention of illness, therefore, improving the quality of life.

The program administered through CFMC Healthy Kids Clinic began last year in the Russell County school district and has expanded to include five other south central districts, including Clinton County for the upcoming school year.

Clarissa “Moochie” Hart, Healthy Kids Clinic Director of School Based Services, explained how the new program will work and the benefits that will be seen, not only for students but parents and the school district alike.

Hart said that of the 176 school districts in Kentucky, only 15 have school based health centers, with six of those now being in the south central Kentucky area, but she feels that with the success of the existing programs, the rest of the state may want to mimic their success.

The School Based Health Center is adding an extra layer of medical care, with the medical clinic being available at each school.

For example, if a student becomes ill during a school day, the clinic is able to provide services that in most cases parents may have to pick their child up for, such as earaches, stomach viruses, strep throat, flu symptoms and so forth.

Being able to have the child treated in school and being able to dispense the medication needed on-site can be a convenience for parents who may otherwise have to take their child out of school for a day or more.

All parents were given consent forms to have their children seen by the school nurse, which is provided at each school, and would cover the school based health center, or clinic. In the case of the high school, there will be no school nurse on staff but if needed, the nurse located at the Early Childhood Center would go to that school to provide the service as needed.

“In the case of a student needing medical assistance from the schools health center, parents would be notified by phone for permission prior to any treatment and/or medication given,” Hart said.

Hart added that in some cases, parents cannot leave work, or may be out-of-town and couldn’t pick up their child, but with the school based health center, the child could be treated on site. “A student would never be seen without verbal (parental) consent,” she added.

Once a student is examined by the in-house physician’s assistant, those assistants can call in needed prescriptions for medication, provide doctor’s notes to parents and instructions on how to use the medications. “This usually makes the kids happy, the parents happy and the schools happy,” she said, noting that students wouldn’t have to sit for long periods of time in doctor’s offices, parents may not have to pick up their child since they were already being medically taken care of, and if the student can remain in school, it would be a plus to the district and may increase attendance.

In cases where the school based centers are used, insurance companies or Medicaid would be billed when a student is seen by the nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant. “We will not see a child behind someone’s back,” Hart said. “We will take care of the billing.”

Of the three school nurses, the school district has contracted with Cumberland Family Medical to pay for two of the nurses with one to be supplied by the company in a collaborative agreement, in addition to the health center’s physician’s assistant.

The physician’s assistant will split duties this coming year between Clinton and Cumberland County schools, spending two and a half days in each district — with the days at each to be determined and announced later.

In the case where the physician’s assistant is not in a particular district when a student needs medical attention, the school nurse will still be available, and in cases where more extensive treatment or referral may be needed, they would schedule an appointment for the next day to have the student seen by the physician’s assistant at the health center.

Hart made it clear, however, that parents at all times had the final say and could opt to have their child cared for at school by the physician’s assistant or to take their child to their regular physician.

In year’s past, school nurses were provided through the Lake Cumberland Area District Health Department, but due to budget cuts, it could no longer offer those services, so CFMC is providing not only the services of school nurses, but the SBHC physician’s assistants.

The program will also offer more than just in-school student medical care. It will also conduct in-house flu clinics, school and sports physicals and so forth, services that “typically a parent would have to take a child to have done.” Immunizations are also provided, with the exception of allergy shots, which will not be given.

“We don’t want to take the place of any primary physician,” Hart added, but rather give parents an option when their child is in school. They can also do referrals to other doctors or specialists, such as ear, nose and throat doctors they feel a child may benefit from seeing, she said.

During the examination of a student, the physician’s assistant may also catch some major physical symptoms early, such as a heart murmur, for example, and refer that child to a doctor who can treat the condition, rather than perhaps finding it later in life.

Hart noted that in this region of the state, many people don’t like to see a doctor on a regular basis, but they are trying to change the perspective for young people, focusing on preventive medicine and letting people know that it’s not a bad thing to have to see a doctor, but a good thing to see a doctor on a regular basis.

Hart, who said the program in its pilot year in Russell County was a huge success and well received there, would be “a great thing for Clinton County… for parents, the schools, and the children.”

Russell County has a student population of around 3,000 and with the addition of the five other counties, the program will assist around 15,000 students across the region this coming school year.

Cumberland Family Medical Center is a federally qualified health company, but the entire School Based Health Center program will be funded entirely through the company, which will bill Medicaid and insurance, where applicable, and according to Hart, “will be totally self-sustaining,” meaning the program, like some grant programs, will be continuous.

Hart also said all phone lines and computer systems were owned by Cumberland Family Medical, thus all information about students and their medical treatment, under HIPPA laws and others, would be completely confidential.

Hart praised the work of school nurses, saying “they are the biggest advocates for kids” and would do anything to help children in need in any way.

Clinton County Schools Superintendent Charlotte Bernard thinks the new School Based Health Center physician’s assistant program will be a tremendous addition and asset for the school district and the community.

“I think the kids are going to love it. This will be a really good partnership for us,” Bernard said of the new nursing program.

“We are thrilled to be in collaboration with Dr. (Eric) Loy and Cumberland Family Medical because this will be a great opportunity for us. It will work well for the students and parents in time saved and will be best for our students.”

“It is just one more step in educating ‘the whole child’ and meeting the needs of all children,” the superintendent said.

For more information about School Based Health Centers or Healthy Kids Clinic, call toll-free 1-844-435-0900 or online at www.healthykidsclinic.com.