MIAMI - Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, part of Miami Children’s Health System, has partnered with Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) in a pilot program that provides telehealth consultations to support assessment of children who exhibit health issues while at school.
The pilot program, offered at four M-DCPS schools, connects school-based nurses and their patients with advanced care providers at Nicklaus Children’s using a secure audiovisual connection. Using audio visual tools, the hospital-based providers are able to assess certain conditions of the skin, ears, eyes, throat and lungs to help determine if the child is well enough to stay in school. When appropriate, a prescription can be submitted to the pharmacy of choice, supporting families in obtaining treatment at the earliest opportunity.
“Innovative, cutting-edge technology is essential not only to classroom instruction, but is also fundamental to the health and well-being of our children,” said Superintendent of Schools Alberto M. Carvalho. “Our partnership with Nicklaus Children’s Hospital to provide students with telehealth consults will enhance their health care and give them access to hospital-based medical professionals who can provide immediate health assessments.”
“We are delighted to partner with Miami-Dade County Public Schools to utilize our advanced telemedicine program to increase access to care for students in Miami-Dade County. This pilot program is part of our ongoing vision to bring quality healthcare to children wherever they are, whenever they need it, and we hope to continue our relationship with the school system,” said Narendra Kini, CEO of Miami Children’s Health System.
This program is an enhancement to the clinical services provided at the schools through the School Health Program, which provides comprehensive health services and improves health outcomes at high-risk schools through a partnership between Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and The Children’s Trust. There is no cost to the families who participate.
The schools participating in the pilot program are: W.R Thomas Middle School, Southwest Miami Senior High School, Richmond Heights Middle School, and Airbase K-8 Center for International Education. For more information on this program and to enroll in the pilot, parents should contact their school nurse. More information is also available at
www.nicklauschildrens.org/schooltelehealth.
About The Children’s Trust
The Children’s Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County by making strategic investments in their futures. The Trust is guided by principles and values that include targeting early intervention and prevention services to our most vulnerable children, families and neighborhoods, while advocating for and supporting the increased availability of needed services for all children and their families. Additional information about The Children’s Trust can be found at www.thechildrenstrust.org.
About Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is America’s fourth-largest school system. With a diverse enrollment of over 350,000 students from over 100 countries, M-DCPS offers innovative educational programs at its more than 460 schools, including elementary, K-8 centers, middle, senior high schools and alternative, specialized and vocational centers. Students and their families have an active voice in choosing learning opportunities that foster academic excellence, school-to-career pathways and real-world learning.
About Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Where Your Child Matters Most ™ (2025)
For 75 years, Nicklaus Children's has stood as a beacon of hope for children and families across the state of Florida and beyond. Nicklaus Children's Hospital is South Florida's #1 nonprofit, freestanding specialty licensed hospital exclusively for children serving close to 70 percent of children in the Miami metropolitan community. In addition, Nicklaus Children's offers care within NCH North Hospital in Naples, Jupiter Medical Center's De George Pediatric Unit and select Baptist Health Hospital pediatric emergency units. The hospital and its network of more of nearly 35 outpatient care locations offer lifesaving care in in Miami-Dade, Broward, Martin, and Palm Beach counties. These outpatient locations include an array of urgent care, pediatric primary care, and subspecialty care centers and are either hospital-based or outpatient locations under Nicklaus Children's Pediatric Specialists, LLC (NCPS). Providing a pipeline of future physicians and groundbreaking research, Nicklaus Children's is an academic and clinical affiliate of Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Nicklaus Children's is home to centers of excellence including the Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute, the Nicklaus Children's Orthopedics, Sports Health and Spine Institute, Nicklaus Children's Neuroscience Institute and Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute. The 325-bed hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, with many programs routinely ranked among the nation's best by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. Nicklaus Children's also includes a nonprofit physician practice subsidiary with over 40 specialties, and an ambulatory surgery center.