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Penobscot County Health Care is expanding its in-school clinics in Old Town and Bangor next year.
School-based health centers began in the 1960s, and they are steadily expanding across the country, according to a 2019 review published in the National Library of Medicine. They are often established in schools that serve low-income youth and other populations with disparate health care access, authors wrote.
In Greater Bangor, the expansion of the clinics will give students easy access to primary care and mental health services. This is especially important for students from families that face financial and transportation barriers, or whose parents are unable to take time off from work for appointments.
Those barriers often result in delays in receiving necessary care, said Kacy Leeman, PCHC’s school-based health center manager. Having a clinic for students to visit while at school means they can be seen by medical professionals faster, which might save them from being absent.
“Our mission is to keep kids in school, keep them healthy and keep them learning,” she said. “The clinics have been widely accepted in Bangor and Brewer, and the Old Town community needs the services, maybe even more given the lack of health care options in the area.”
In 2006, PCHC launched school-based health centers at Brewer High School and Brewer Community School. In early 2022, a clinic opened at Bangor High School, which the district’s superintendent praised as “wildly successful.”
The program will expand further next year, with clinics coming to Old Town Elementary, J.A. Leonard Middle School and Old Town High School, thanks to a $700,000 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, said Kacy Leeman, PCHC’s school-based health center manager.
James F. Doughty School and William S. Cohen School in Bangor will also get clinics, she said. Earlier this year, the Bangor City Council approved giving $500,000 of its federal pandemic relief funding to the school district to build them.
Health professionals at the clinic can treat asthma, ear infections and strep throat, among other conditions. They offer annual wellness exams, immunizations and sports physicals.
If students do not have a primary care provider, the clinic can fill that gap. If they do have a provider, parents can still enroll their children for more immediate care while at school.
“This school-based health center is a testament to our commitment to providing a holistic education that prioritizes the wellbeing of our students and staff,” said Matthew Cyr, superintendent of RSU 24, which serves Alton, Bradley and Old Town. “We are confident that it will have a positive impact on the health and academic success of our students.”
The $700,000 grant will fund renovations in at least two Old Town schools, he said. Portions will support a medical provider, mental health provider and school-based health coordinator, who will handle scheduling, checking students in and out of the clinic and other tasks.
The medical clinic will be at Old Town Elementary, and students and staff from across the district will be able to visit it once it’s up and running in mid-March, Leeman said. Mental health services will be available to the middle and high schools starting in January.
Between PCHC’s three clinics, 366 students were enrolled from July 1, 2022, to June 30 of this year. The nonprofit recorded 3,282 visits and 2,434 mental health visits, according to figures provided by Leeman.
It is noteworthy that 74 percent of all visits were for mental health services, which highlights the growing need for such support and integrating it into a school environment, she said.
The clinics in Old Town will not replace RSU 34’s school nurse programs, Cyr said, but they do provide the district with more resources.
There may be situations when students first visit the school nurse, and if further care is needed, they will be referred to the clinic, Leeman said. Medical professionals there can provide immunizations and prescribe medication, which school nurses cannot do, she said.
“The clinic will operate as a health care facility, so students and faculty can schedule appointments or walk in and be seen,” she said. “Families can bring students into the clinic even if they didn’t come to school that day.”
Parents will need to enroll their children in the clinic, and forms will go out to parents in the coming weeks. Parents will be billed for services through PCHC’s billing department.
PCHC provides health care services to about 58,000 patients in Maine, with roughly 70 percent being low-income people and seniors, according to its website.
