Back-to-school season is a flurry of activity. While kids are racing to soak up the sun before returning to the classroom, adults are busy with paperwork. Parents are paying tuition for the upcoming school year and filling out required forms while school nurses are collecting medical information and making sure everyone is compliant. Sound familiar? 

Prior to adopting Magnus Health in 2017, the nursing staff at Woodward Academy in Atlanta, GA was spending thousands of hours on administrative work. Read this case study to learn how they’ve benefitted from a student health record (SHR) software that saves staff time, improves the parent experience, and simplifies back-to-school season through an integration with the school’s student information system. 

Saving Time in the Health Office 

For many years, Woodward relied on paper health forms to collect students’ medical information. Health staff printed out all required forms and mailed them to each family. Parents then returned the forms via mail and the health office reviewed each form, often following up with families about missing or overdue paperwork. With a student population close to 2,600, this was a lengthy process. 

Kim Lawrence, Assistant Dean, estimates that it took their staff of five nurses nearly forty, eight-hour workdays to manually process the school’s health forms each summer. That’s roughly 1,600 hours of administrative work!  

Since adopting Magnus Health, the school has benefitted from a digital process. Instead of manually printing, mailing, reviewing, and tracking down health forms, Woodward’s nurses have streamlined their workload with SHR software. Thanks to Magnus Health, Kim reckons that the nursing team spends a mere 120 hours on managing student health records each summer. 

They have also increased efficiencies in other areas through:  

• Automated email reminders to parents about upcoming due dates for missing forms and physicals. 
• Easy access to a student’s vital health record so when a child comes into the health office, the nurse can quickly check their approved medications and permission to treat. 

Improving the Parent Experience 

Parents save time, too. Before Magnus Health, student information had to be manually updated each year — even if there were no changes to the previous year’s records. Now, this information is stored in the student’s vital health record from year to year. Parents only have to update what’s new or necessary. 

“Parents tell us how convenient it is that they only have to make necessary updates as opposed to filling out the forms from scratch every year.”

– Nija Meyer, VP for Enrollment Management

Parents have also appreciated how user-friendly and intuitive the Magnus Health platform is. Prior to the upcoming school year, parents get a list of what forms they need to complete for each student. This includes any updates to the Student Vital Health Record, Annual Physical Exam and Immunization Form, Over-the-Counter Medication Form, Consent to Treat and Release of Information, and Action Plans, as needed. The forms are already uploaded into Magnus Health and parents simply need to download the form and update their information.  

Integrating with Veracross 

Woodward has made it even easier for parents to use Magnus Health through an integration with Veracross, the school’s student information system. With Veracross, parents have a dedicated portal where they can access all relevant school information like tuition payments, events calendars, and student medical records. The link to Magnus Health is readily accessible and easy-to-find at the top of the parent portal.  

“It has really changed our lives, that Veracross is a one-stop resource for all our families throughout the school year,” says Meyer.

This integration is especially helpful during back-to-school season. Woodward sends an annual back-to-school email outlining all requirements and parent tasks for the upcoming year, one of which is to update student medical records. Parents can simply click the link and navigate to Magnus Health directly from their parent portal.  

Even more, parents only have to log in once! The Magnus Health and Veracross integration allows for Single-Sign On (SSO) so parents can log into one platform and get access to both.  

“It was a two-step process before. Now with SSO, it makes it that much easier for parents to just click on the ‘Student Health Records’ button and see all of their forms in one section. It minimizes their need to click on different links.” 

– Kim Lawrence, Assistant Dean

Woodward Academy has significantly reduced staff workload, improved the parent experience, and simplified back-to-school season with Magnus Health. Each of these efficiencies allows the school to spend less time tracking down paper files and sorting through folders, and more time on student care. 

Curious how much time you could save with Magnus Health? Use our ROI calculator to find out how much your paper-based processes are costing you.