For generations, going to the nurse’s office at the local elementary school was a simple concept. It was where children received their daily medications or complained of stomach aches. And if the child had severe conditions, their parents were asked to take them home or the family doctor.
But thanks to partnerships with Choptank Community Health System, those school health offices are increasingly becoming urgent care centers similar to those found in local shopping centers on the Mid-Shore. Staffed by licensed, advanced practice clinicians, these nurse’s offices have started to function like a typical doctor’s office, with medical providers assessing and diagnosing illness, writing prescriptions, performing lab tests—including strep and COVID—and performing physicals, including for school sports.
The Spy was so intrigued that we ventured out to White Marsh Elementary School in Trappe to learn more from Choptank’s CEO, Sara Rich, health provider Kim Fitzgerald NP, her assistant Jennifer Insley, and White Marsh’s principal, Kim Seidel, to learn more.
This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about Choptank’s school-based programs please go here.
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