The CHCNRV School-Based Health Center at PCHS has proven to be an invaluable resource as a school nurse! We have a lot of students without a primary care physician or dentist. Before the clinic opened, it was a very long and frustrating process to find dental care for our students and often resulted in no service being obtained or waiting weeks or months for urgent care. Now that we have the clinic, which is open every school day, we can get guaranteed appointments, often on the same day, regardless of insurance type.
I have students getting ready to turn 18 who haven’t had dental check-ups for years or medical care outside of urgent care or ER visits. We have been able to get them registered as patients with the school-based clinic so that they can access care now and when they leave school they are still a patient of the CHCNRV and can be seen at any of their area offices.
The team at the school-based clinic has been so great to work with in getting students scheduled for the care they need. I had one student with a broken tooth who had not been able to find a dentist. They came to me in pain and displayed signs of infection. The clinic was able to see the student that day, have their teeth examined, see a medical provider, and then work with the parent to start prescribed medication and put together a plan to repair the broken tooth. In the past, this would have taken weeks to schedule and the burden for finding those services would have been primarily on the parent.
We have staff who have been able to schedule appointments during their workday for medical and dental needs. This has reduced the need for urgent care visits and substitute coverage since the clinic works with our teacher’s schedules. One office staff member was able to avoid taking half of a day off of work to see her regular dentist, in another county, by getting her routine cleaning done here at the school-based clinic. It took only 30 minutes out of her work day and they are able to share x-rays and exam information with her primary dentist.
The parents of our students have expressed gratitude for health services that are so readily available allowing them to coordinate with those services without having to leave work or have the student leave school. We have had many parents use the clinic to supplement their child’s primary care by using the clinic for urgent needs, vaccinations, and physicals.
The clinic doesn’t just see our high schoolers. Parents have brought in students of all ages. Our superintendent, Mr. Graham has recently worked with transportation to even offer school transportation for students to get to their appointments. The CHCNRV dental services are also mobile and go around to all of the district schools providing preventative and restorative care.
At the high school, we have a growing population of non-English speaking students and students moving here from other countries. Most of these students have no idea where to find the medical services they need to begin school. The school-based clinic is now a part of the Vaccines for Children program and can administer vaccinations for all school-aged children. This has allowed our immigrant students to get the care required for school quickly and with staff on campus, they can assist the parents in obtaining the services they need for the future.
Having the Community Health Center of the New River Valley School-Based Program here in Pulaski County is already proving beneficial to the overall well-being of our students! Students need to be healthy to attend and learn at school. The CHCNRV School-Based Program is one more tool for addressing student needs, developing relationships with parents, and strengthening our community.
Nikki Lockhart, RN – School Nurse at Pulaski County High School