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Union Community Care proposes school‑based health center at Coatesville High School; board asks questions about access, consent and operations
Summary
Union Community Care presented a plan to operate a school‑based health center that would provide medical, dental and behavioral health services at Coatesville High School at no cost to the district; members asked about parental consent processes, privacy (HIPAA vs FERPA), parking and whether services would be open to the community after school.
Union Community Care President and Chief Executive Alisa Jones told the education committee that her nonprofit — which operates school‑based health centers in other counties — would open a clinic at Coatesville High School, offer same‑day sick visits, sports physicals, dental and behavioral health treatment and would bill insurance or provide sliding‑scale care for uninsured families. "No one is turned away because they cannot pay," Jones said, adding that the organization accepts Medicaid and CHIP and that, where eligible, staff help families enroll.
Jones described privacy protections: medical records would be maintained in a cloud‑based medical record subject to HIPAA, separate from school records governed by FERPA. She said parental consent would be required to provide most services and that Pennsylvania law allows certain services (for example, reproductive health for minors over a specified age) without parental consent; the clinic would follow state law.
Board members and students raised operational questions: designated parking for clinic staff and patients, whether the presence of a clinic would increase on‑campus traffic, how the clinic would work with the school nurse, bilingual staffing and how telehealth psychiatry would be provided. Jones said Union Community Care would pay for minor renovations to create exam and lab space, carry medical malpractice and general liability insurance, and that the organization typically offers community access after school hours when districts permit it.
No formal vote was taken. The solicitor has received the memorandum of understanding for review; district staff said the school and solicitor would continue negotiating terms and consider funding opportunities for renovations. Committee members expressed broad support while requesting more detail on access for other district students, community access and data about utilization and sustainability.
