One high school student came to see nurse Marge Ober a few days in a row complaining of feeling sick, but nothing was wrong.
Nurse Ober tracks days, times and visits, then called the student's mother. The student was having panic attacks — and the parents had no idea. A physician gave the student counseling and medication. The child is now doing fine.
Nurse Ober spotted this student's problems using Highmark Healthy High 5's Health eTools for Schools — a secure, Web-based portal for improving student wellness that documents health data and generates the yearly reports on Body Mass Index (BMI) and all other reports and screenings mandated by the Commonwealth.
With approximately 1,000 students in Palmyra Area High School, it is cumbersome to track everything using traditional paperwork. Now, nurse Ober says, "Health eTools tracks everything. The program logs when the students come in and when they leave, whether they're here for an injury or illness or medication. With more than 5,000 student visits a year, I use it all day long. At the end of the year, I can generate the required reports with the click of a button."
In the Harrisburg area (including Palmyra), nurses at 199 schools use Health eTools to record student health data more efficiently, freeing up time to address student health concerns.
Consider, for example, the sophomore who saw nurse Ober every day after lunch. Calling the mother, nurse Ober alerted her to a possible eating disorder. This year, the student is in counseling — and is eating well. Then there was the young man who kept falling asleep in first period. Nurse Ober and eTools spotted the trend. Now the boy takes his medication every morning.
"This program keeps a history of each student's visit," nurse Ober says. "The goal is to promote a healthy environment for students to learn. The eTools program is extremely helpful in identifying health conditions and student trends."
Learn more about Highmark Healthy High 5 Health eTools for Schools.
This story was originally published in an April 5, 2009, advertising supplement for Highmark Healthy High 5.