Health News
An entrepreneurial physician in Southern Kentucky has developed a way to deliver school health services that could have a broader impact on communities.
?We have a chance to change the culture of health care in Kentucky,? Loy told the Adair County Board of Education, which voted to spend $80,000 next year on the clinics. That is "roughly the same cost the district currently pays for school nurses," Feese reports. "If the trial run next year is successful, both parties will have options to continue the agreement."
"Cumberland Family Medical will pay two-thirds of the nurse expense and will bill the insurance of the patient," Toni Humphress reports for the Adair County Community Voice.
School Supt. Alan Reed complimented the dedication and service of the county?s school nurses but said costs to employ them were ?soaring,? Feese reports. Reed said of Loy's plan, ?This is kind of a novel approach, and from all we?ve seen, we really like it. It cuts down on time and any barriers for a kid getting health care.?
Loy agreed, saying, ?A lot of times that?s the barrier, that it?s hard [for parents] to miss work.?
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Health News
Southern Kentucky physician expands his in-school clinics; already in Russell County, will be in Adair County next year
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| Dr. Eric Loy (Columbia Magazine photo) |
Cumberland Family Medical, based in Burkesville, has clinics at the five schools in Russell County and now has a deal to do likewise with the four in adjoining Adair County.
Dr. Eric Loy, who owns the clinic, "said that the agreement could have an important impact on the community both short term, by helping create a healthier and more focused student body; and long term, by creating a culture where people get acclimated to seeing doctors and nurses for physicals and regular checkups on a consistent basis," Wes Feese reports for The Adair Progress.
?We have a chance to change the culture of health care in Kentucky,? Loy told the Adair County Board of Education, which voted to spend $80,000 next year on the clinics. That is "roughly the same cost the district currently pays for school nurses," Feese reports. "If the trial run next year is successful, both parties will have options to continue the agreement."
"Cumberland Family Medical will pay two-thirds of the nurse expense and will bill the insurance of the patient," Toni Humphress reports for the Adair County Community Voice.
School Supt. Alan Reed complimented the dedication and service of the county?s school nurses but said costs to employ them were ?soaring,? Feese reports. Reed said of Loy's plan, ?This is kind of a novel approach, and from all we?ve seen, we really like it. It cuts down on time and any barriers for a kid getting health care.?
Loy agreed, saying, ?A lot of times that?s the barrier, that it?s hard [for parents] to miss work.?
School principals said sick students may have to sit in an office or lobby all day because working parents are unavailable to come pick the students up and take them to a doctor. "Director of Pupil Personnel Robbie Harmon said that this move could have a bigger long-term impact on the community than any project he?s worked on in his time in the school system."
Loy's in-school clinics are manned by a full-time nurse practitioner who travels between schools, and is overseen by a physician. "Loy said that all forms of insurance would be accepted, and that all children would be seen and treated, regardless of their ability to pay," Feese reports. "He also said that the clinics could help out with insurance enrollment."
Adair County had one of the state's highest percentages of people without health insurance until the federal-state Medicaid program was expanded under federal health reform. The uninsured rate has dropped dramatically, but some families are still without health coverage.
- School Health Units Expand In Southern Ky.; Treatment And Prevention Should Pay Off In Longer, Healthier Lives For Students
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News School-based health centers are a new approach to providing student health care through a public-private partnership, whose model of care has the potential to improve the lives of some students forever. The units...
- Ten-county Lake Cumberland District Health Department Is The Latest To Ask Schools To Foot More Of The Bill For School Nurses
The Lake Cumberland District Health Department told school districts in its 10-county area in December that it would no longer be able to pay for nurses for each school, setting off negotiations with the districts. Somerset Independent Schools Supt....
- Adair County Residents Will Get An Extra Tax Bill As Trustees Of Bankrupt Hospital Vote To Levy A Tax To Pay Its Debts
Facing a $20 million debt and in bankruptcy, the Adair County Hospital District trustees voted unanimously Oct. 4 to impose a 10 cents-per-$100 value property tax, effective immediately. In August, in a move perhaps unprecedented in Kentucky, the district...
- School Boards Across Ky. Realign School-nurse Programs, Squeezed By Budget Cuts And Medicaid Payment Issues
School districts in Kentucky have long relied on county health departments for school nurses, but state budget cuts and problems with Medicaid reimbursements have squeezed the health agencies, and they in turn have put the squeeze on the schools for more...
- Adair County Community Voice Newspaper, Local Health Department Sponsor Community Health Challenge
Residents of Adair County should be getting more fit in the new year, thanks to community-wide competition sponsored by the local health department and one of the Columbia newspapers. The Adair County Community Voice and the Lake Cumberland-Adair County...