NEW ORLEANS – With flu season approaching, several schools in the Greater New Orleans area expect to stay one step ahead of illness by offering local families access to a new innovative device, Kinsa Smart Thermometers — an app-enabled smart thermometer that tracks fever, symptoms and influenza-like-illness activity in real time. Kinsa partnered with Ochsner Health System to sponsor the FLUency Program, a community health initiative that invites families and staff at select schools to receive free Kinsa Smart Thermometers as a way to prevent illness and promote a healthier school year.
"Sick days are disruptive to learning, challenging for parents who must find childcare, and costly to schools that are already struggling with strapped resources," explains Kinsa founder and CEO Inder Singh. "Because the thermometer is the first device you grab when your child falls ill, we turned it into a support system to keep your entire family healthy. We are thrilled to partner with Ochsner to offer schools throughout Greater New Orleans a tool to help keep more children healthy and in school."
Student sick days afflict families, cost school districts millions of dollars in funding, and hinder students' achievement.
From the first sign of illness, through recovery and beyond, Kinsa helps patients determine what to do next. Kinsa has won numerous awards, including the Grand Prize in Medical Innovation by the Cleveland Clinic, and is available in more than 7,000 retail locations in the US and Canada
“As part of our commitment to building healthier communities, we think it is important to support innovative community health initiatives, especially within elementary schools,” said Dr. Amanda Jackson, pediatrician at Ochsner Hospital for Children. “We hope our partnership with Kinsa can provide ease to parents, help students avoid illness and receive access to timely care if illness strikes.”
With Ochsner-sponsored Kinsa Smart Thermometers, parents at participating schools can see anonymous, aggregated information on trending symptoms and illnesses and can speak directly to an Ochsner nurse through Ochsner On Call – a free 24/7 service that provides health education, advisory services and appointment booking, if fever or symptoms are cause for concern.
“To provide our students with a quality educational experience and a nurturing environment, we want to use every tool at our disposal to stop the spread of illness in our schools and to keep our students in class learning,” said Dr. RaeNell Houston, superintendent of Catholic schools. “We are pleased to partner with Ochsner to offer this free program at Archdiocese schools that are interested in participating.”
Ochsner is partnering with 26 schools to bring this program to the Greater New Orleans area this fall: Ascension of Our Lord School; Atonement Lutheran School; Christ the King School; Good Shepherd Elementary School; Harold Keller Elementary School; Holy Rosary School; John Curtis Christian School
Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy; Our Lady of Divine Providence School; Our Lady of Perpetual Help School – Belle Chasse; Our Lady of Prompt Succor School; Resurrection of Our Lord School; St. Alphonsus School of New Orleans; St. Anthony School; St. Benilde School; St. Cletus School; St. Christopher School; St. Francis Xavier School; St. Joan of Arc Catholic School; St. Leo the Great School; St. Louis King of France School; St. Peter Claver Catholic School; St. Rita School; St. Rosalie Elementary School; St. Stephen School; and Stuart Hall School for Boys.
