ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — There’s a new healthcare hub ready to help students and families at Fallon Park Elementary School in Roanoke. It’s called the LIFT Center, which stands for “Local Impact for Tomorrow.”
The LIFT Center offers a pediatric clinic, dental care, mental health services, health and wellness education, and more to Fallon Park Elementary students who otherwise may not have access to healthcare. The facility also offers financial coaching and access to other resources for parents.
“We know that good health is not just the absence of disease,” explained Heather Millar with Carilion Clinic Community Health and Outreach. “We know that good health incorporates all aspects of your life, where you live, what your relationships are like, what your mental health is, what your physical health is.”
The center has two exam rooms; a lab; multiple conference rooms; and Tyto Care technology, which is some of the first in the area.
Tyto Care device allows the nurse to use cameras to check the child’s throat, ears, lungs, and nose with cameras so the doctor, using video chat, can make a diagnosis.
“The doctor on the other end will see exactly what’s going on in that child’s throat, probably even clearer than she would if she was doing it with her own eyes and a tongue depressor,” said Millar.
Instead of sending sick students home, the school nurse can now refer students to the center to be seen during school hours, where they can get tested for illnesses like strep throat and COVID-19.
“One student who ended up having a diagnosis that is going to change his life because he’s going to get the care he needs that he didn’t have before,” Millar said. “He didn’t even know he had this problem, he was just constantly sick. And through this center and through access to this center, they found out what was really on with him.”
The LIFT Center is made possible through a partnership between Carilion Clinic, Delta Dental of Virginia, Freedom First Credit Union, and Roanoke City Public Schools.
