Putnam County Hospital, GCSC to partner using telehealth

Putnam County Hospital and Greencastle Community School Corporation have partnered to provide telehealth services inside all five Greencastle schools.

Putnam Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, led by Dr. Lisa Martin, will be the partner practice for GCSC.

The school clinics will be equipped with Tyto brand telehealth equipment, which housed at the school clinics transports vital signs and real time visualization of the patient that the physician or PA can review.

The clinic nurse can manipulate the instruments to visualize the patient’s throat, ears, nose, rashes, cuts or abrasions. Instrumentation can be placed over the heart and lungs for the provider to hear.

Communication with the school nurse and the student over the internet is conducted with the ability to engage the parent if they are available. The clinics are equipped with Point of Care Laboratory tests that also aid in diagnosing flu, strep, UTIs and other minor ailments that can be diagnosed via telehealth. All information is documented in an electronic health record for the patient housed at Putnam Pediatrics and Internal Medicine.

“We are so excited to launch our new high-tech healthcare partnership with Putnam County Hospital,” GCSC superintendent Jeff Gibboney said. “Telehealth services will be accessible to all students in each of our schools’ clinics, providing direct access to the outstanding healthcare services available through Putnam County Hospital.

“GCSC students will have the opportunity to be seen by a remote healthcare provider who actually may be miles away from the school,” Gibboney added. “All of this takes place at the facility, while the student remains at school. This reduces challenges that rural students can face when it comes to receiving quality healthcare while school is in session. In addition, this will save everyone time and promote quality healthcare delivery.”

Dr. Martin said the providers and staff at PPIM are looking forward to being a resource for the local community and partnering with the Greencastle Community School Corporation to provide needed services for local students.

“These types of programs that provide telehealth services are an important step in keeping our local area children in school and make it feasible for parents to be able to have their children evaluated without missing work,” Dr. Martin said. “This is truly an exciting opportunity to serve our community.”

The typical telehealth visit takes 15 minutes. Putnam Pediatrics and Internal Medicine providers are able to send prescriptions to the patient’s designated pharmacy. School notes and after-visit instructions are provided to the child to take home to his or her family.

The convenience of providing clinic services to schools helps parents who cannot take time off work or who do not have transportation. It also reduces unnecessary absenteeism. Follow-up visits can be performed via telehealth inside the school clinics to check on a child’s condition.

Putnam County Hospital and Putnam Pediatrics and Internal Medicine will continue to work with GCSC and the families to understand where improvements of services are needed in order to best serve the students and families.

PCH and GCSC are in the final stages of implementing the telehealth program and hope to have it up and running this fall.

“We are proud to be a partner with the Greencastle Community School Corporation,” Putnam County Hospital CEO Dennis Weatherford. “We hope to replicate the program throughout the county in the years to come. We are very excited about the opportunities to help children create a healthier lifestyle.”