Berrien school medical facility faces an uncertain future

Published 7:00 am Monday, February 6, 2012

A state-of-the-art medical facility that was introduced in Berrien County public schools in 2010 might be ending soon.

On Feb. 14, Berrien Elementary MED Clinic Director Sherrie Williams will appeal to school board members about the viability of the program, why it is needed and how it has succeeded so far.

The MED Clinic offers tele-medicine services for both teachers and student patients.

The service basically enables doctors to work with patients over long distances by using a nurse, a monitor similar to a television monitor and two-way cameras. Physicians can see the patients and through instruments that the nurse is using, can see inside a patient’s ear, nose, throat, etc., in order to diagnose an illness, all done at the school during school hours to prevent absenteeism.

Unfortunately, Williams believes there are two main misconceptions people may have with the program.

One is that patients are being billed directly by the MED Clinic.

Williams stated that the program is completely covered by grants and that any billing that is done is by the doctor’s offices.

The other misconception is that the clinic only provides patients with acute and chronic physical illnesses.

“One of the biggest portions of our program is mental health,” said Williams. “Over 300 doctors are registered with the tele-medicine program.”

Last year, the Berrien County School Board faced funding shortages and was initially uncertain how they would pay the salary of school nurses.

Williams commends the school board’s decision to ultimately keep resident nurses available. She hopes that eventually the MED Clinic will be self-sustaining and pay part of, or all of the nurses salaries who assist with the program.

She points out that the program seems to have actually increased student attendance by about three percent in one year.

“If we have a teacher who has a doctor’s appointment, they have to use sick leave and could miss half or an entire day,” said Williams. “From a cost-savings point, teachers are able to get services on campus in about 20 minutes.”

Smaller victories are part of the program as well.

Just this week, Williams was working with a student and his family about his symptoms.

He is one of 123 students who suffer from asthma.

They managed his medication, made home visits and met with his parents for education and training on how to treat the condition.

“He is leaps and bounds better already,” said Williams. “I imagine he would be hospitalized at some point with his severe asthma. He came in on Monday and he’s already much better.”

Both schools qualify for Title I federal funding, meaning that they have a large population of students are financially impoverished.

Sixty-seven percent of students in the schools qualify for free or reduced lunches.

She says many students qualify for Medicaid, Peachstate or private insurance, but full services are available for the indigent population.

“We see it as a ministry as much as anything else,” said Dr. Rick Wheeler, one of the program’s primary physicians, along with Dr. Brian Griner.

“We just enjoy doing it. It gives a great amount of satisfaction to keep these students and teachers in schools.”

There is some cost to the schools, including office space, utilities and about five to ten hours of work each week from nurses.

“My hope is that they understand the success stories,” said Williams. “I think once they realize the benefits, they’ll think it’s a no-brainer.”

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