Daytona Beach, FL - Volusia County Schools with the highest rate of chronic absenteeism will be the first to benefit from a partnership with AdventHealth. A $2-million, five-year partnership between the two is in the first phase of providing healthcare services to students that began on Monday with Westside Elementary School in Daytona Beach.
AdventHealth spokesperson Lindsay Cashio said the chronic absenteeism is considered missing 10 or more days during the school year, which creates barriers to learning, getting good grades and even graduating. The number of chronic absentees account for about 17 percent of students, which comes to about 11-thousand childen.
In the coming months, 35 additional schools will be added to the program. Cashio said each school clinic will be provided with a tablet containg the AdventHealtheCare app and a printer. Using the app, students and their parents will have a face-to-fave video visit with a board-certified physician or nurse practitioner for a range of urgent care issues.
Students would receive a diagnosis for minor ailments, learn about treatment options, receive follow-up instructions and even obtain a prescription if necessary. The cost for an AdventHealth eCare visit is normally $49 without insurance. However, with the partnership, the hospital system has a fund for the school district to manage that will cover the cost of the student visits.
Addressing chronic absenteeism is just one of the three focuses of the AdventHealth partnership with Volusia County Schools. The others are student athlete health and career development opportunites within the healthcare industry.
