Atrium Health Holds COVID-Safe Town Hall Meetings for Schools

08.13.2020 Atrium Health News

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 12, 2020 – As school officials and parents carefully consider their best course of action for back to school this fall, Atrium Health is holding a virtual town hall meeting Thursday with K-12 educators, aimed at bringing them useful information from the system’s medical experts. It’s the first in a series of monthly town halls sponsored by Atrium Health for schools. Thursday’s discussion will share insights on school safety measures during the pandemic, easing anxious parents, helping students, teachers and staff cope and build resiliency, as well as the importance and proper technique of wearing a mask.

After spending the past several months working with area employers to implement COVD-Safe practices and testing protocols, Atrium Health is now engaging with K-12 schools, using the health system’s pediatricians and infectious disease specialists to craft recommendations for how best to keep students and staff safe.

“We are pleased to be able to help provide a pathway for students to return to classes, applying our medical expertise to bring COVID-Safe standards and practices to schools in our region,” said Ruth Krystopolski, senior vice president of population health for Atrium Health. “In addition to providing guidance and support on the physical health of K-12 students and staff, we’re also focusing on their emotional and social health. We want to provide the tools and services educators need to keep their students and themselves healthy and safe.”

As part of its offering to schools, Atrium Health Employer Solutions provides a number of services to ensure a safe environment where students can learn and thrive, including:

  • Safety consultations, which provide an on-site review of physical spaces and customized recommendations on classroom layout and the campus environment.
  • On-site, post-exposure COVID-19 testing for students and staff following a school-based exposure.
  • Exposure management, which provides expert guidance to help manage school-based exposure of COVID-19, including help in identifying teachers and students who may have been exposed and recommending ways to contain any exposure.
  • Remote monitoring of individuals following a school-based exposure.
  • A COVID-Safe Resource Guide for Schools, providing digital resources for the most up-to-date information on preventing school spread, as well as guidance for administrators, teachers and families, plus in-school signage reminding students about masks, social distancing and proper hand washing techniques.

Atrium Health has a proud history of working with schools throughout the Charlotte region in the communities it serves, including tailored health fairs, mental health first aid training and overall wellness programming. It has more than 50 partnerships with high school athletic departments to help keep student athletes safe. Atrium Health has also pioneered new school-based telemedicine clinics, offering virtual visits from a school nurse’s office, which has reduced trips to the emergency department as well as the number of school absences.

Launched 30 years ago, Atrium Health Employer Solutions is dedicated to connecting employees and their organizations to resources beyond healthcare to improve their quality of life and remove barriers that impact their productivity. A few of the many services offered include on-site clinics, biometric screenings, on-site health coaching, occupational health, services related to COVID needs, behavioral health, tobacco cessation, virtual urgent care and executive health. Ultimately, all the services work together to develop healthier individuals.


About Atrium Health

Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is an integrated, not-for-profit healthcare system with over 55,000 teammates at nearly 40 hospitals and hundreds of care locations throughout the Carolinas and Georgia. Atrium Health provides top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care to patients, as well as specialized musculoskeletal programs and organ transplants. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals for cancer treatment and in eight different pediatric specialties, it has also received the American Hospital Association’s Quest for Quality Prize and was the recipient of the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. Its flagship hospital, Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center, is the region’s only Level I trauma center and is consistently rated among the nation’s best. Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all. Over the past three years, Atrium Health has provided nearly $2 billion per year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.