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LRSD renews and outlines school‑based health MOUs; Wakefield Dental clinic awarded three‑year grant
Summary
District staff presented renewals for MOUs with Arkansas Children’s Hospital and River Mountain Eye Care, described partnerships with UAMS dental hygiene, and announced a three‑year award supporting the Wakefield Dental Clinic.
District staff briefed the board on memoranda of understanding (MOUs) that govern school‑based health services and described a new three‑year grant award to support the Wakefield Dental Clinic.
Miss McKeown (district staff) announced the district received notice of a three‑year grant that will provide $150,000 in the first year and smaller amounts in later years to support Wakefield Dental Clinic operations. Staff said the district will resume more direct management of the Wakefield clinic after Children’s International withdrew previous funding, and funding from Medicaid billing and the City of Little Rock contributed to covering operational costs.
Staff reviewed existing partnerships: an ACH (Arkansas Children’s Hospital) Primary Care MOU renewing services at Stevenson and Chico clinics, UAMS dental hygiene student rotations that provide pediatric dental hygiene care at district sites, and River Mountain Eye Care’s vision services (the district reported 253 visits and 218 prescribed pairs of glasses under that partnership last year). Staff said the ACH primary care clinics provided roughly 680 visits at Stevenson and 950 visits at Chico last year and that all clinic services are available to district students across the district.
On dental staffing, staff said ACH is contracting a dentist to provide Wakefield dental services three days a week at $500 per day with Medicaid billing expected to reimburse clinic costs; the City of Little Rock is assisting by funding a dental assistant position (an LRSD employee) at about $45,000 per year while the city evaluates ongoing support each year.
Staff said the district will continue to contract with a Medicaid billing specialist, Sandra Lynn, to manage Medicaid claims for school‑based services. Board members asked clarifying questions about clinic hours, sports physical coordination with Children’s Hospital, and whether the clinics accept students from across the district; staff said clinics schedule during school hours through about 4 p.m. and are available to any LRSD student.
Board members praised the school‑based health teams and encouraged continued outreach to families to raise awareness of available services.
