Sentara partners with Hampton and Harrisonburg school systems to launch school-based telehealth clinics

Through collaborative partnerships with two Virginia school systems, Sentara Health has launched an innovative school-based telehealth program, delivering acute primary care services directly to students and faculty in their own schools. With active school telehealth clinics in Hampton and Harrisonburg, Virginia, Sentara plans to expand to more than 25 Title I schools across the Commonwealth of Virginia over the next two years.

The school telehealth initiative combines expert care and technology to make access to healthcare simple, timely, and more convenient. The school clinics enable students to receive high-quality Sentara medical care within the school – delivered by a hybrid care team that includes an on-site licensed practical nurse and a virtual advanced practice provider (nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or medical doctor). Using advanced technology that facilitates remote physical exams, virtual providers are able to look in the student’s throat, listen to their heart, examine their ears, and make clinical decisions in real-time.

“This school telehealth initiative is just one more way Sentara is getting creative to address the needs of our community members by meeting them where they are,” said Heather Strock, executive director, Sentara Community Care. “Our partnerships with the Hampton and Harrisonburg school systems allow us to provide timely access to care, reducing student absenteeism and minimizing parents’ time away from work. This makes it easier for families to seek the care they need when they need it.” 

This initiative is an extension of Sentara Community Care, Sentara’s innovative healthcare model that is designed to increase access to holistic care, address social drivers of health, and improve health outcomes. The goal is to reduce traditional barriers to health and wellness by maximizing convenience and providing consistent, embedded medical and wrap-around services in neighborhoods that historically lacked access, have known health disparities, and statistically experience worse health outcomes.

According to Prasanna Mohanty, Sentara executive vice president and president ambulatory care, “Our partnerships with the school systems exemplify Sentara’s commitment to improving health every day by making high-quality healthcare accessible to all students, regardless of their circumstances. By bringing medical care directly into schools, we are not only addressing immediate health needs but also fostering a healthier, more successful future for our children and communities.”

“Hampton City Schools is excited to expand our partnership with Sentara by launching this unique pilot program that offers access to a Sentara clinic during the school day,” said Dr. Raymond Haynes, superintendent of Hampton City Schools. “We believe that this daily interaction with our community partner will not only strengthen our relationship, but also increase access and awareness to medical resources as we work together to maintain and improve the health, attendance, and academic success of our students,” he added.

Beyond direct medical care, Sentara is focused on incorporating wellness and social care services as part of the overall delivery program to support the school’s healthcare goals.

“By identifying a child through care visits at the school clinics, we can also identify whether they have a primary care provider for well-child visits,” said Strock. “That way, we can proactively manage any health-related issues and provide the immunizations that are needed for students to go to school.”

Through the school telehealth initiative, Sentara aims to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for families by reducing the direct and indirect costs for parents whose children attend these schools. All in-school visits are billed as a regular primary care appointment, which means they are no cost for Medicaid patients. For uninsured families, Sentara offers financial assistance programs to ensure the care is affordable. Additionally, these in-school visits can help to prevent health problems from escalating, which can keep children out of urgent care and emergency departments.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with Sentara and offer another innovative health care opportunity for our students and families,” said Dr. Michael Richards, superintendent of Harrisonburg City Public Schools. “The telehealth model during school hours will remove barriers for our families and reduce student absenteeism. We are appreciative of the opportunity to pilot this new program and look forward to positive outcomes for our community.”

Sentara’s partnership with Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS) launched in 2023, when Sentara opened a Community Care Center within the HCPS Family Resource Center in Harrisonburg to offer primary care and behavioral health services, school entry physicals, and vaccinations to uninsured and Medicaid students. The center supports the school system’s strategy to help reduce barriers and long wait times for uninsured and Medicaid students to receive immunizations and physicals for school entrance requirements. The addition of the school telehealth clinics in Harrisonburg will further enhance access to vital health and social services for students, while helping to alleviate common barriers families face, including transportation.

Sentara’s school telehealth clinics are delivering care to students at George P. Phenix PreK-8 School in Hampton and Smithland Elementary School in Harrisonburg, with expansion to additional Title I schools coming soon. Title I is a federal education program that supports low-income students throughout the nation. The clinics are open to students and faculty during regular school hours, Monday through Friday.

The school clinics are powered through a partnership with TytoCare, a virtual healthcare company that enables leading health plans and providers to deliver high-quality remote healthcare.