Health Equity and Absenteeism in Schools: The Role of School-based Healthcare

America could transform student health by providing healthcare for kids in the spaces where they spend much of their days. That’s the view of our speaker, Dr. Adrianna Bravo, M.D. By increasing the efficacy of school-based healthcare, districts can respond to students in crisis, reduce chronic absenteeism, and address health inequity. A new model for school-based healthcare that leverages telemedicine could be the answer. After the pandemic, student health needs have heightened and barriers to using telemedicine in schools have decreased. Dr. Bravo will discuss a unique pilot program that has ran for the last 9 months in historically underserved parts of a major American city. Lessons learned from this program include a significant increase in return-to-class rates, a significant decrease in student absences, and a zero-cost service model that can be emulated by schools across America. Learn how telemedicine is poised to power health equity initiatives in communities across the country.