Preston County — Representatives from Mount Laurel Medical Center presented a proposal for school-based health centers at the Preston County Board of Education meeting on Nov. 10, outlining clinical services and operational options and prompting questions about parental consent and geographic access.

Dr. Sarah Kahl, family physician and chief medical officer at Mount Laurel Medical Center, said school-based health centers can provide primary care, chronic-care management and licensed behavioral health services, and typically operate at least a half-day twice a week or on a rotating schedule among schools. "The purpose of them is to provide access to care for students that might not be accessing it already," Dr. Kahl said, noting such centers can reduce absenteeism because students do not need to miss a full day for appointments.

Brian Bailey, CEO, clarified the centers are usually run by community health centers and that parents must provide consent. He emphasized Mount Laurel’s intent to complement, not compete with, local hospitals and clinics and said "we are not here to compete with anyone. We are here to complement services to your students and to your faculty and their families potentially." He said Mount Laurel has coordinated with the Preston County health department and local providers and could offer multi-site or mobile models depending on the county needs.

Board members asked whether reproductive and behavioral-health visits would be reported to parents and how billing and space arrangements would work. Bailey said federal licensing and HIPAA/confidentiality rules define disclosures and age-specific requirements: some behavioral-health records and certain services can have different privacy rules and parental-notification standards. "There is age-specific requirements between medical disclosure and behavioral health disclosures," Bailey said; presenters added that details would be spelled out in a needs assessment and any site agreements.

Several board members raised access concerns for remote communities (West Preston, Terra Alta) and asked whether a mobile clinic could follow a rotating schedule; student board members urged parental involvement and welcomed the idea if it included mobile options. "If we're going to do it for one school, we should do it for all the schools and provide access," one board member said, advocating a schedule of mobile clinics or multiple sites to avoid long bus trips.

The board did not vote on a contract but directed the superintendent to continue discussions and for the health center and district staff to complete a community needs assessment and report back with recommended locations, parental-consent procedures and draft operating agreements.

What’s next: District staff will solicit a needs assessment from Mount Laurel, explore potential site options and return to the board with a recommendation and draft MOUs for formal action.