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As inequitable access to health services persist across the state, it is critical to continue to support the school with the provision of health services, address individual concerns on health-related matters during school hours, and eliminate the barriers to healthcare access. 

This program will fund telenursing activities in Wisconsin focused on increasing access to school health services to support existing school health personnel and provide services to schools that lack the resources to fund full-time or part-time staff to address school health concerns.

This funding award seeks to further support the promotion of health equity and access to health services statewide through accessible telehealth services for public and private schools. This statewide service aims to support nurses with heavy workloads who serve multiple schools and provide timely triage and virtual/over-the-phone assessment and referral to emergency services for medical care. The awarded organization will establish a relationship with a telenursing vendor to support this statewide effort.

The WI Department of Health Services (DHS) will be funding this project during the 2024-2025 School Year as part of the  K-12 School Nurse Workforce Development grant.

Funding Source: k-12 School Nurse Workforce Development, Strategy 1: Recruitment and Retention

Bellin Health is the provider of the program.

Bellin Health, www.bellin.org, is an integrated healthcare delivery system based in Green Bay, Wis. It has served people in Northeast Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula since 1908. Bellin Health has more than 5,000 employees and is known for its emphasis on preventive healthcare and is a leader in cardiac, orthopedics, sports medicine, digestive health, mental health, and primary care medicine. 

Yes, Bellin Health has experience with both FERPA and HIPAA as they have worked with schools in the past to ensure compliance.

The project is open to both public and private K-12 Schools in Wisconsin.

The Registered Nurses are state-licensed and WellCoach trained. Health and well-being coaches are expert facilitators of mindset and behavior change that generate sustainable healthy lifestyles and foster well-being and thriving. Coaches are making a dent in some of the toughest challenges of our times: the epidemics of obesity, diabetes, sedentary lifestyles, poor nutrition, chronic stress, distracted minds, and ever-rising healthcare costs.

CESA 6 Commitments

• Require the vendor to provide monthly reports to DHS on teleservice usage.
• Use resources in the manner described.
• Support the distribution of contacts to this service to public and private schools to promote the service.
• Respond to requests for information/activity from DHS.
• Inform DHS about the progress, impacts, and outcomes of the effort.
• Solicit technical assistance and support from DHS on public health matters.
• Provide a document of ideas for potential action to further advance health equity in the community(ies) served.

Bellin Commitments

• Support telenursing services during school hours.
• Track school-related calls for reporting purposes.
• Provide qualified telenursing staff to include LPN, and RN skills and competencies.
• Provide a common-phone number for school usage.
• Provide virtual and telephone capabilities for consultations.
• Support consultations with a less than 10-minute wait time.

DHS Commitments

• Provide funding for efforts to enhance the accessibility of telenursing services.
• Provide technical assistance on credible public health practices and state policies regarding school-age vaccination schedules.
• Respond to requests for information/activity from grantees.