School-Based Telehealth Program - Children’s Health℠

Children’s Health ℠ | Dallas, TX

In pursuing our goal of meeting families in the communities where they live, learn and play, Children’s Health identified schools as a major opportunity to increase access to care, particularly for underserved children. We observed that about half of our pediatric emergency department (ED) visits occurred during daytime hours, and we heard from parents of their difficulties in getting time off from work to take their children to the doctor, which can result in lost wages and sometimes job losses. We were also eager to collaborate with schools around the Whole School, Whole Child, Whole Community philosophy, which seeks greater alignment, integration and collaboration between education and health to improve each child’s cognitive, physical, social and emotional development.

In collaboration with the primary care physician network of Children’s Health, we developed a school-based telehealth program that connects students directly to health care professionals for low-acuity care.