Between snowdays and flu season, schools are looking for new ways to keep kids in the classroom. Boyne City Public Schools may have a solution.
Boyne City Public Schools were recently awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human services worth nearly $98,000. The money will go towards renovating the Boyne Rambler Health Center, a school-based health clinic.
Natalie Kasivorski, Director of Community Health Services for the Department of Northwest Michigan, said there are countless benefits to school-based health centers.
“They promote health and educational equity, they increase school attendance, we help eligible students enroll in health insurance,” she said, “We provide actual health services, both preventable and wellness services, access to sick care, and connect kids back with their primary care provider.”
Kasivorski said the new center will integrate mental and physical healthcare, and that integration will help improve the over quality and efficiency of care.
“The Rambler Wellness Program Renovation Grant will renovate an existing classroom space to create a dedicated health center that supports integrated service delivery,” she said “This is exciting because fully integrated care increases capacity without sacrificing quality or requiring major increases of staffing at the site.”
Kasivorski said school-based health centers increase overall student wellness and help keep kids in the classroom. She said the Boyne City grant will focus on the key issues of mental health, substance abuse screening, and obesity related services.