As late as Feb. 2024 and possibly sooner in Jan., Terrace students will have access to dental, medical, and mental health professionals within the building through a School-based Health Center (SBHC). Partnering with Community Health Center of Snohomish County (CHC) and Verdant Health Commision, this clinic will offer sports physicals, immunizations (including flu and COVID-19 vaccines), age-appropriate reproductive healthcare, oral healthcare, aid in insurance enrollment, and referrals to other providers/specialists to better provide for students, all at no costs to students or families.
In a meeting, Bergeline Staab, the SBHC Clinic Supervisor, introduced the staffing, the resources, and services of the clinic. Staab explained that if students do have insurance, the insurance will be charged but no bill will come to the families. Walk-ins are welcomed by the clinic, however registration by parents is needed to receive a full range of treatment offered. It was made clear by Staab that because of minor consent laws, even if the student is registered by a parent, the clinic will still be able to provide reproductive and behavioral health care confidentially.
CHC is a separate, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), compliant entity and not under the school district, therefore all patient care cannot be shared with staff or parents without consent by the student unless mandatory reporting requires it. Mandatory reporting is required by staff when a patient has been harmed or possibly in the threat of harm.
At Terrace, the Edmonds School District (ESD) completed renovations to the Old Cheer Storage Room (2E03) and the Health Room (2A01) in November of this year. This month, they hope to receive all installs and purchases of equipment and furniture and have communicated this with the Terrace staff and community. From January to March, the clinic will have limited basis for CHC Medical and Dental Services as they will coordinate for students and staff having the dental team come once a week and the medical team twice a week. On days which these teams are not at school, students will be able to access some resources streamlined out to other clinics and book appointments. The soft opening of this clinic will be in January and will be fully functioning by February within the building. After establishing the clinic within the school, CHC hopes to have a clinic outside of the building to allow access to the same services for students in the community from Brier Terrace Middle, Brier Elementary, Cedar Way Elementary, Mountlake Terrace Elementary, and Terrace Park Elementary.
CHC, within MTHS, will be in charge of the staffing, funding, and operations, working closely with the nurses at Terrace, Sherman Davidson and Jennifer O’Neil.
Previously in September 2022, Meadowdale High School was the first in our district and county to receive one of these health clinics, which provides the same health services and has now expanded to students from the local schools (Meadowdale Middle, Meadowdale Elementary, Beverly Elementary, Spruce Elementary, Lynndale Elementary, Edmonds Elementary, and Seaview Elementary). Currently, half of the patients are students of Meadowdale High and the other half come from the community area.
Through this clinic, Meadowdale High has seen increased athletic participation with the ability of students to receive a physical in school, as well as students being able to access dental treatment for urgent needs and access to urgent mental health resources streamlined through the clinic.
Across the state, there are about 70 SBHCs and over 30 in neighboring King County. The opening of these clinics are to reduce the barriers to getting vaccines and medical care so students can focus on learning and growing as a result to increase attendance and better the community of these schools.
