Scott 2 partners with Scottsburg Family Practice to provide same-day appointments for students, employees
Scott County School District 2 is helping students, families, and employees reduce recovery time at home and save time spent at the doctor’s office through a partnership with Scottsburg Family Practice. The new program gives students and Scott 2 employees the option to obtain same-day appointments for acute illnesses — saving parents, guardians, students, and employees time.
“This service is valuable to our students and families because it ensures they will be seen by a local clinician for a same-day appointment. They are able to immediately access health care for their sick child rather than wait until the next day for an appointment at their primary care physician or have a long wait in an immediate care clinic setting,” said Heather Crites, Scott County School District 2 health coordinator and registered nurse.
When a student or a staff member goes to the school nurse with an acute illness that requires a doctor’s visit, the school nurse will give them an option to make a same-day appointment with Dr. Jennifer Craig’s office at Scottsburg Family Practice, which is part of Scott Memorial Hospital. These same-day appointments are for acute medical conditions, such as strep throat, ear infections, upper respiratory infections, flu symptoms, urinary tract infections, sports injuries, and other conditions. Dr. Craig’s practice accepts patients with any insurance or self-pay because of its Rural Health Clinic status, and a parent or guardian must accompany the student to the appointment. At any time, a student’s parent or guardian or a school employee can decline the appointment; no one is required to participate in this option.
“The benefit of the partnership with Dr. Craig is voluntary. The nurses will ask if the parent would like their student to be seen at Dr. Craig's office for the acute illness they are being sent home from school,” Crites said. “If the parent does not want to make an appointment and wants the student to see their primary care physician, then we fully support that decision. This is just another option available to the parents of SCSD2 students to help them get access to great health care locally.”
The Rural Health Clinic designation comes from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service’s Health Resources & Services Administration and allows medical practices located in rural areas to become accredited through the federal government by meeting specific guidelines, gives the medical practice the opportunity to receive wider varieties of insurance, provide self-pay options for those who are uninsured, and help patients obtain medical insurance. Only three medical practitioners in Scott County hold this designation.
“The collaboration is an extension of the hospital partnering with SCSD2 over the past few years offering various programs and services to our students,” Crites said. “This service benefits parents and families by helping them get same day health care for their sick child by a local provider. They can get the same expert care right here, right at home, to help their child get better and return to school quicker.”
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