The Norton eCare School Telemedicine Program will allow MCS students to see a Norton Healthcare provider through a secure video visit from the school nurse’s office. Working together, the school nurse and Norton Healthcare provider will use special medical technology to examine the student, look at the child’s skin, listen to their heart and lungs, and check their nose, throat and ears. The nurse also can perform tests for strep throat, COVID and flu.

Common conditions that can be treated through a telemedicine visit include cold, fever, rash, earache, pinkeye and sore throat. After the visit, the provider will follow up with the parent and send an after-visit summary home with the child. Any needed medications will be sent to the family’s pharmacy of choice.

“We are so very thankful for this opportunity to partner with Norton Healthcare to provide this service for our students and families,” said Teresa Brown, superintendent, MCS. “We know families are busy, and sometimes there are barriers to care, so we are very excited to offer this option during the school day for those who may need it. Our school nurses will work with administrators to communicate with our families regarding the details of how the program will work.”

“The goal is to keep children healthy, in school and learning,” said Rachel R. Alexander, DNP, APRN, manager of telehealth, Norton Healthcare. “Through the program, we can evaluate the child while at school and allow them to remain in class if possible.”

The Norton eCare Telemedicine Program launched in 2019 at three Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) elementary schools in Louisville, Kentucky, and expanded to all JCPS elementary schools in 2024. The grant from the Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation will allow the expansion to Madison, Indiana.

“This program is a very strong statement to how it takes a village to care for children,” said Lynnie Meyer, R.N., Ed.D., FAHP, CFRE, senior vice president and chief development officer, Norton Healthcare. “Donors to the Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation are making it possible to provide this type of care for children and their parents, making health care more accessible and convenient.”

The school telehealth visit is billable through the parent’s insurance plan or covered under Medicaid and Medicare. Copays are similar to an office visit. Parents must complete a registration form online to enroll their student in the program.  Visit SchoolTelehealth.NortonHealthcare.org to enroll students.

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With parental consent, the Norton eCare School Telehealth program allows children to see a Norton Healthcare provider through a secure video visit from the school nurse’s office. Working together, the school nurse and Norton Healthcare provider use remote medical technology to examine the students, look at their skin, listen to their hearts and lungs, and check their noses, throats and ears.

Common conditions treated through a telehealth visit include cold, fever, rash, earache, pinkeye and sore throat. The school nurse also is able to help perform tests for strep throat, COVID-19 and flu. Parents have the option to join the visit. If they are unable to, the provider follows up and sends an after-visit summary home with the child. Any needed medications are sent to the family’s pharmacy of choice.

“The goal is to keep children healthy, in school and learning,” said Rachel R. Alexander, DNP, APRN, manager of telehealth, Norton Healthcare. “Through the program, we can evaluate the child while at school and allow them to remain in class if possible.”

Parents will no longer have to leave work or forgo other responsibilities to take their child to the doctor. The program also will help connect families with primary and specialty care providers, which could help reduce student absenteeism.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for JCPS students, families and staff to receive immediate access to health care from their school,” said Eva Stone, DNP, APRN, manager of district health services, Jefferson County Public Schools. “Now, when a student comes to the nurse’s office with a medical issue, parents and guardians no longer have to inconveniently leave work to check on their children or take them to a doctor. The students can join a telehealth call with a Norton Healthcare provider, getting the medical attention they need to keep them in the classroom more often.”

The Norton eCare School Telehealth program launched in 2019 with three JCPS schools and expanded to 14 schools in 2022. The Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation grant is allowing the program to expand to 50 elementary schools during the 2023-2024 school year and the district’s remaining elementary schools during the 2024-2025 school year.

“Expanding access to care, especially for students, is our priority,” said Lynnie Meyer, R.N., Ed.D., FAHP, CFRE, senior vice president and chief development officer, Norton Healthcare. “We see this as an opportunity to improve that access, while supporting busy parents. The goal of our partnership with JCPS is to keep children healthy.”

The telehealth visit is billable through the parent’s insurance plan or covered similarly to an office visit. Parents must complete a registration form online to enroll a student in the program. Learn more at www.NortonChildrens.com/JCPS.

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While fever is often thought of as a common flu symptom, not everyone who gets the flu runs a temperature.

In addition to fever, common early flu symptoms include:

• Chills
• Body aches and pains
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Dry cough
• Sore throat
• Rhinitis — stuffy, runny nose and sneezing
• Vomiting and diarrhea (more common in children than adults)

Early flu symptoms easily can be confused with a common cold, but while cold symptoms come on gradually — flu typically will affect you fast.

Flu symptoms alone aren’t enough for a diagnosis, and they can overlap quite a bit with COVID-19 symptoms. The Food and Drug Administration earlier this year approved an over-the-counter home test for flu and COVID-19. It works much the same way as existing home COVID-19 tests, using a gentle swab of the nostril to collect a sample, and can give you a result in about half an hour.

The test can detect influenza A, influenza B and COVID-19.

“For many, seasonal flu can come and go without the need to see a medical provider,” said Mary Rademaker, M.D., medical director of Norton Immediate Care Centers. “But it can be very serious for many others, and for those who are at risk of severe flu complications, we can prescribe an antiviral medication.”

What to do if you have the flu

The flu is contagious and, in some people, can be deadly. Older people, young children and people with certain health conditions can develop severe illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following steps if you have the flu.

• Stay home and rest.
• Avoid close contact with people in your house who aren’t sick.
• Drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration.
• Use over-the-counter medications to treat fever, cough and other symptoms.
• Call your doctor if you develop severe symptoms, including a high fever, are pregnant or have a condition that puts you at higher risk of a complication, like asthma. Your health care provider may prescribe an antiviral drug.

Related: When does the flu warrant emergency care?

If you have a fever, you can still spread the flu virus for about 24 hours after your temperature comes down. Stay home for another day after your fever is gone without taking any fever-reducing medicine such as ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol).

If you haven’t gotten the flu vaccine, it’s likely not too late to protect yourself and those around you. Flu season runs from fall through spring, and the flu shot takes effect after about two weeks. Even if it’s early March, you can still benefit from the vaccine’s protection.

The vaccine doesn’t always prevent you from getting sick from the flu virus, but it is very effective at reducing your symptoms or preventing you from developing flu complications if you do catch it.

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In addition to the groin area, a monkey pox rash can break out on the hands, feet, chest, face or mouth.

If you are concerned about symptoms or possible exposure to Mpox, use MyNortonChart to set up an eCare video visit with a Norton Heathcare provider.

“We have a lot of worried patients who are coming into our practices,” said Angela Burgan, R.N., Infection Preventionist with Norton Medical Group. “People have rashes and lesions for a variety of reasons, so our providers really have to get into that information with the patient about their level of exposure to infected individuals.”Mpox

Mpox is spread by close contact, often skin-to-skin. That includes sexual contact as well as kissing, hugging or massage. The virus also can spread on surfaces, bedding, towels and other objects used by someone with Mpox. Respiratory droplets also can be a source of infection, though most cases appear to spread by close contact.

Some people with Mpox will get a rash followed by other symptoms, but some will have just a rash.

If you think you may have Mpox, either because of a new and unexplained rash or other symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends taking the following steps:

• Avoid close contact, including sex or being intimate with anyone, until you have been checked out by a health care provider.
• If you don’t have a provider or health insurance, visit a public health clinic near you.
• When you see a health care provider, wear a mask.

“Most patients are not acutely ill. Unless you’re having signs and symptoms of distress, the emergency room wouldn’t be appropriate,” Angela said.

Mpox rash symptoms usually start less than three weeks after virus exposure and a few days after developing flu-like symptoms. Mpox lasts up to four weeks until the rash has healed and a fresh layer of skin has formed.

Mpox symptoms also can include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Chills
• Exhaustion
• Respiratory complaints (sore throat, congestion, cough)

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This is the largest partnership in Bellarmine’s history.

“I want to thank the Norton Healthcare Board of Trustees for their transformational support of our students over the past two decades and look forward to continuing our partnership for years to come,” said Bellarmine’s president, Dr. Susan M. Donovan. “Together, we are preparing outstanding students to be the great leaders that our future workforce demands.”

“We have had a great partnership with Bellarmine University over the years. We are excited to do more great things together to support not only students and student athletes but those who are working toward careers in healthcare,” said Norton Healthcare President and CEO Russell F. Cox.

Bellarmine will use Norton Healthcare’s $2.4 million investment to:

• Meet the greater level of health support, including additional athletic trainers, required for student-athletes by Bellarmine’s rise to NCAA Division I in 2020. Norton Healthcare will remain the official healthcare provider of Bellarmine University’s Athletics Department, and Norton Sports Health professionals will continue to provide comprehensive care to Bellarmine student-athletes.
• Increase health services and wellness programming for all students. A Norton Healthcare employee will help to staff the Bellarmine clinic; Norton Healthcare will provide eCare services for the campus community; and Norton Healthcare practitioners will be Bellarmine’s preferred referral partners.
• Diversify and increase the number of practice-ready healthcare providers and develop new academic programming. Norton Healthcare will continue to support the Norton Healthcare Chair of Graduate Studies in Nursing and will provide scholarships to students completing the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program, with a preference for those from demographic groups historically underrepresented in nursing. Because the Accelerated BSN is a 12-month program for those who already hold a bachelor’s degree, the funding will result in the graduation of new nurses each year of the partnership.

Norton Healthcare’s partnership with Bellarmine dates to 2002 and the university’s first cohort of Lansing Scholars, whose costs are partially covered by the Norton Healthcare Foundation and who begin their careers at Norton Healthcare upon graduation, where they are eligible to have their loans forgiven.

In July 2009, Norton Healthcare and Bellarmine formed a collaborative nursing venture to further address the community’s healthcare workforce needs. In 2013, that partnership was renewed and a second focus—sports medicine—was added. In 2016, Bellarmine and Norton Healthcare added strategic ventures related to campus wellness.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noroviruses cause anywhere from 19 million to 21 million cases of acute gastroenteritis per year. While most symptoms aren’t serious, diarrhea and vomiting can cause dehydration.

How does norovirus spread?

Like many illnesses, norovirus spreads via contact with the infection. And unlucky for us, norovirus is very contagious and very hard to kill: It can live in water, survive extreme temperatures and be passed through a wide variety of means.

If you’ve picked up a norovirus, symptoms appear within 24 to 48 hours and last one to three days.

How long does norovirus live on surfaces?

The virus can live on hard or soft surfaces for about two weeks; in still water it can live months or possibly years.

Norovirus prevention

Old-fashioned scrubbing your hands with soap and water is the best protection against getting sick. There is no vaccine against norovirus; it can survive freezing and temperatures up to 140 F, and hand sanitizers have no effect on it.

If you or someone in your home gets sick, do not prepare food for at least three days, and wipe hard surfaces with a bleach-based disinfectant. Wash blankets or other soft items in hot water.

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Reactions from antibiotics account for 20% of medication-related emergency room visits, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Common side effects of antibiotics can include rash, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea and yeast infections.

More serious side effects of antibiotics include susceptibility to clostridium difficile (C. diff) bacteria, which causes severe diarrhea that can lead to significant colon damage and even death. Antibiotics damage the normal bacteria in your intestines and create the opportunity for C. diff to take over. C. diff needs immediate treatment.

Allergic reactions to antibiotics include wheezing, hives, shortness of breath, and anaphylaxis — a feeling that you are choking or your voice is changing. While about 10% of U.S. patients report they had an allergic reaction to penicillin in the past, testing has shown that fewer than 1% are truly allergic, according to the CDC. About 80% with a penicillin allergy lose their sensitivity after 10 years.

“Antibiotics are powerful drugs. If you need an antibiotic, follow your health care provider’s instructions carefully, be on the lookout for side effects and allergic reactions and alert your provider or seek emergency care if you are concerned,” said Steven Patton, D.O., family medicine physician with Norton Community Medical Associates – Preston.

Because antibiotics will kill good bacteria along with bad bacteria, they can disrupt the balance in the gut. Studies have found that this disruption contributes to numerous conditions, including diabetes, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, depression, autism and superinfection in critically ill patients.

Antibiotics are helpful for some bacterial infections. If you have a viral infection such as a cold, the flu, runny nose — even if mucus is thick, yellow or green — antibiotics won’t help. Antibiotics also give bacteria a chance to build up resistance, making future infections harder to treat.

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Russell F. Cox, president and CEO, Norton Healthcare, announced the new concept in medical care in May 2020 after the success of Norton Healthcare’s pop-up drive-thru respiratory clinics launched this spring in response to keeping patients and staff safe and healthy during the coronavirus pandemic. Services offered included hospital pre-admission testing and COVID-19 testing.

“COVID-19 taught us a great deal about new ways we can provide medical care to our community, including drive-thru testing centers and expanded telehealth services,” said Cox. “We heard from our community that they liked the convenience of these drive-thru centers, so we developed a way to expand services beyond those for COVID-19 in a permanent location.”

“After thoughtful planning and construction, this concept is now a reality. Services will be provided in a covered, climate-controlled building, allowing patients to remain in their vehicles for most services.”

The building is part of a parcel of land Norton Healthcare purchased in 2019. The rest of the land and existing structure is being renovated for the relocation of CPA Lab, a division of Norton Healthcare.

The architect for Norton Healthcare Express Services is TEG Architects and Abel Construction is the contractor. The total investment for the project is $1.85 million, which includes the structure and testing and diagnostic equipment. The facility employs nine people who will oversee the seven-day operations

Norton Healthcare Express Services is primarily a referral-only location, and patients must have a provider’s order to be seen, with the exception of existing Norton Healthcare patients seeking flu shots. This allows providers offering Norton Telehealth and Norton eCare services the ability to give patients, including those who are immunocompromised, a no-contact option to receive care.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in the United States, over 9,000 high school athletes are treated for heat illnesses each year.

Many medications and underlying medical illnesses, such as diabetes, also can increase the risk for heat illnesses.

Dehydration

One of the most common heat illnesses is dehydration. This occurs when the amount of fluid the body loses, usually due to sweating, is greater than the amount taken in. If not treated right away, your body stops working normally.

Signs of dehydration

• Dry, sticky mouth
• Dizziness and/or headache
• Decreased or darker urine
• Fatigue
• Muscle cramps

Children are especially susceptible to dehydration. They generate more heat for their body size than adults. They also sweat less, which is the body’s way of cooling itself.

Age plays a role in how much daily water intake is needed to stay hydrated. Sodas, sweetened drinks (diet or regular) and caffeinated drinks are not part of daily hydration needs and can increase risk for dehydration.

Sports drinks generally are not needed if you are not exercising more than one hour and can be harmful to children who don’t need the extra sodium and glucose. Water is the best choice if you are exercising less than one hour.

Sports drinks will replace electrolytes lost in sweat after strenuous exercise. In addition to rehydration after strenuous activity, a glass of chocolate milk will help refuel with a good blend of carbohydrates and protein.

How much water should kids drink?

Kari J. Zahorik, M.D., family medicine physician with Norton Community Medical Associates – Mid City Mall, suggests the following guidelines for minimum daily water intake (1 cup = 8 ounces):

• Children ages 4 to 13: 5 to 8 cups
• Teenage boys and adult men: 13 cups
• Teenage girls and adult women: 9 cups

“Once you’re thirsty, it’s too late to hydrate,” Dr. Zahorik said. “About two hours before exercising, you should drink 2 to 3 cups of water. During exercise, you need to be drinking 1 to 2 cups every 20 minutes, then 1 cup within 30 minutes of stopping.

“Also, an easy sports medicine rule of thumb is that urine should look like lemonade, not apple juice.”

If you still have signs of mild dehydration, such as dry mouth or thirst, drink more.

Heat cramps

Dehydration can cause heat cramps, which include muscle cramps in the legs, stomach and sometimes the hands. Drinking enough fluids and moving to a cool location will make these symptoms go away.

Heat exhaustion symptoms

Untreated dehydration and exposure to high temperatures can quickly turn into heat exhaustion, which includes the following symptoms:

• Dry, sticky mouth
• Dizziness and/or headache
• Decreased or darker urine
• Fatigue
• Muscle cramps
• Confusion
• Pale skin
• Rapid heartbeat
• Profuse sweating
• Fainting

If you or someone around you is experiencing these symptoms, drink or provide plenty of cool fluids, remove tight or unnecessary clothing, and use fans, iced or wet towels, a water hose or any other cooling measures.

Heatstroke symptoms

• Behavioral changes
• Seizures
• Loss of consciousness
• Lack of sweating

Heatstroke is a medical emergency and can cause loss of consciousness; damage to the heart, brain and kidneys; and even death.

If you are around someone with heatstroke symptoms, call 911 immediately.

While you’re waiting for EMS to arrive, move the person into the shade or a cool building, and help cool the body with fans, iced or wet towels, or a water hose.

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A yeast infection causes inflammation of the vagina and vulva, which can cause intense itching, redness, soreness and a burning sensation during urination or sex. It commonly produces a thick, white, odorless discharge that looks like cottage cheese. Symptoms may be mild to moderate, but they can get worse if left untreated.

“Your vagina has a natural balance of yeast and bacteria,” said Rachel Alexander, APRN, nurse practitioner with Norton eCare. “When that balance is disrupted, you get an overgrowth of a type of fungus called candida, which can lead to an infection. Warm, dark, moist conditions — like a wet bathing suit or jogging pants — are where this overgrowth thrives.”

Why am I coughing? Learn the difference between the four types of cough in adults

Yeast infection risk factors and treatment

Women may be more at risk for a yeast infection due to various factors, including:

• Use of antibiotics that can kill good bacteria in the vagina and create an imbalance of yeast cells
• Increased estrogen levels (from pregnancy or hormonal birth control)
• Compromised immune system
• Poorly controlled diabetes and blood sugar

A yeast infection is not a sexually transmitted disease, however it can be spread through sexual contact. You do not have to be sexually active to get a yeast infection.

Unfortunately, women who have had a yeast infection in the past are more likely to get another one.

According to Rachel, yeast infections can usually be treated with antifungal medication, either in a cream or pill form.

“Many times treatment can be prescribed quickly through our eCare service,” she said. “We offer an easy, convenient way to get fast relief from the maddening symptoms of a yeast infection.”

Norton eCare can be accessed from a mobile device (using the MyChart app) or computer via MyNortonChart. Opt for a secure video visit or an eVisit, which involves filling out a symptom-specific online questionnaire. If symptoms don’t improve within several days of treatment, you may need to see a health provider for an exam. Symptoms that are far outside the norm of a typical yeast infection probably cannot be treated via Norton eCare.

Yeast infection prevention: Get out of wet underwear or bathing suits right away

Most women who have dealt with the frustration of a yeast infection would probably tell you to focus on prevention rather than treatment.

Get out of wet clothes — wet underwear or a wet bathing suit — immediately. Wear swim or workout attire made of moisture-wicking material, which helps moisture evaporate more quickly.

Avoid wearing too-tight underwear, especially during the summer months. Choose cotton underwear and loose pants, skirts or dresses instead. Stay out of hot tubs, and don’t take very hot baths. Avoid antibiotics unless they are absolutely necessary.

With a few simple precautions, a yeast infection doesn’t have to get in the way of your next spin class or a refreshing dip in your favorite pool.

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