Canyons School District pilots telehealth at 17 schools to reduce chronic absenteeism

Canyons School District is pilot testing a school-based telehealth program at 17 schools with Intermountain Health that district officials say has helped keep students in class and reduce the time parents miss work.

The pilot, described on the district podcast Connect Canyons, was explained by Jen Girard, nursing specialist for Canyons School District. Girard said the program connects students and employees to a designated telehealth provider who can examine symptoms and, where appropriate, prescribe medications while the student remains at school.

Girard said the telehealth visits are intended "to kind of replace what we would typically go to urgent care for." She described point-of-care testing and the use of exam equipment in school health rooms so providers can visualize an eardrum or run a strep test during the virtual visit. Parents provide consent and may join the call; prescriptions are sent to the pharmacy the parent designates.

From September through December of the school-year pilot, the district reported 39 total telehealth visits: 27 students missed no school days after a visit; six missed less than half a day; three missed one day; and three missed more than one day. Girard said the data suggest the program can reduce downtime for students and parents when clinical needs are appropriate for telehealth.

Parents may opt in via a consent form on the district nursing services web page; Girard said those consents are valid for 12 months with Intermountain Health and staff still obtain verbal consent at the time of a visit. She said Intermountain’s Connect Care service accepts a broad list of insurance plans, that an out-of-pocket visit is $69, and that financial assistance is available to qualifying families.

The district has also expanded standing nursing orders and point-of-care treatments alongside the telehealth pilot, Girard said, allowing school nurses to provide over-the-counter medications, hydrocortisone for minor skin complaints, and on-site strep testing. She described ongoing vaccine clinics run in partnership with the Utah Department of Health’s Vaccines for Children program and noted another clinic scheduled for March 12 from 3 to 6 p.m.

Girard said the district is collecting usage and outcome data before discussing expansion with district leadership. She noted the pilot is concentrated in schools with a full-time nurse and that coverage models where nurses split time across buildings make implementation more complicated.