Oakland County Executive David Coulter announced Friday a partnership with Beaumont Health that would make available a telephone screening hotline to assist parents and guardians with pre-screening and identifying potential illness in students prior to entering a school facility.

Hotline staff are expected to be Beaumont health care professionals who can provide guidance and any recommendations. They will also help answer questions about COVID-19 symptoms, testing, and when it is considered high-risk sending a child into a school.

“As more Oakland County students return to in-person learning, we want to ensure various resources are available to our families and schools to remain safe,” Oakland County Executive David Coulter said in a press release. “We are excited to partner with Beaumont to help parents and guardians navigate their health concerns or questions with health experts.”

The hotline will be available at 248-551-4242 from 5 a.m.- 8 a.m. Monday-Friday through Dec. 30.

“The Board along with county administration stand ready to support our students and parents as we begin to open our schools safely,” Board of Commissioners Chair David T. Woodward (D-Royal Oak) said.

“We know many parents have questions right now about COVID-19 and we’re thrilled to partner with Oakland County to help provide some answers,” Maureen Murphy, nurse practitioner at Beaumont, said in the release. “We hope our clinical team will be able to offer comfort and guidance to parents who are trying to do what’s best for their children.”

General COVID-19 resources are still available at Oakland County’s Health Division website: www.oakgov.com/covid or by contacting the Nurse on Call directly at 800-848-5533 or noc@oakgov.com.

Nurse on Call is available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday – Friday and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday. — M.K.