Technology-Enabled Learning Collaborative Program - The proposed project will expand the University of Wyoming's (UW) Student Health ECHO program to strengthen the capacity of school nurses serving children and adolescents throughout Wyoming's rural, frontier, tribal, and medically underserved communities, across all areas of pediatric care with a focus on mental health and chronic disease. Through a technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity-building model, the project will provide school nurses with ongoing access to interdisciplinary specialists, evidence-based training, mentorship, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities designed to improve the identification, management, coordination, and referral of students with complex health needs. School nurses are often the most accessible healthcare professionals for children and families in Wyoming, particularly in communities where access to pediatricians, behavioral health providers, developmental specialists, and other healthcare professionals is limited. In many rural and frontier school districts, school nurses practice independently with limited access to specialty consultation, continuing education, and professional support. As student health needs continue to increase, schools are increasingly relied upon to address chronic disease management, mental and behavioral health concerns, medication administration, care coordination, crisis response, and support for students with disabilities and medically complex conditions. The project will utilize the evidence-based Project ECHO model to connect school nurses with specialists in pediatric medicine, behavioral health, disability services, adolescent health, public health, nutrition, chronic disease prevention, and care coordination through regularly scheduled virtual learning sessions and regional learning activities. This TCLP project will implement a statewide workforce development model that strengthens Wyoming school nurses' capacity to address pediatric physical, behavioral, developmental, and mental health needs through UW ECHO in Student Health, regional leadership and mentorship, clinical skills training, asynchronous learning, and telehealth support. The project is led by the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND) in partnership with the Wyoming School Nurse Association, Wyoming Department of Education, and the University of Wyoming School of Nursing. The proposed technology-enabled collaborative learning model is specifically designed to address the workforce development challenges experienced across Wyoming's geographically dispersed rural and frontier communities. By reducing barriers related to travel, professional isolation, workforce shortages, and limited access to specialty expertise, the project will strengthen school nurse confidence, competency, leadership development, and workforce retention while expanding access to evidence-based pediatric and behavioral health support for students statewide. The anticipated statewide impact of the project includes increased participation in evidence-based professional development, improved coordination between schools and healthcare providers, expanded access to specialty-informed care in underserved communities, reduced professional isolation among school nurses, and strengthened statewide capacity to support student health, wellness, and academic success. By leveraging Wyoming's existing telehealth and ECHO infrastructure, the project will create a sustainable statewide learning network that improves both workforce capacity and access to care for children and adolescents throughout Wyoming.
