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District outlines new school-based health centers and free wellness services for students
Summary
Colleen Williams, the district director of student wellness, detailed no-cost counseling, telemedicine, dental and vision partners and plans for school-based health centers at Pacific, Sierra, San Andreas and Indian Springs, with Pacific opening in January and other sites staged through next school year.
Colleen Williams, director of student wellness and support services for San Bernardino City Unified, told the district advisory council the district offers counseling, onsite mental-health therapists, telemedicine through Hazel Health, free dental and vision clinics and emergency care plans at no cost to families regardless of insurance status.
Williams said the district has 34 school nurses and several licensed vocational nurses who provide specialized care for medically fragile students. She described partnerships that bring dental, vision and telehealth services onto campuses and cited a recent total of 966 students who received free glasses districtwide.
The district is also opening multiple school-based health centers to expand clinical access. Williams said a Pacific High School clinic will begin accepting patients in January and will offer well-child visits, immunizations and acute care; a nearby "welcoming resource" clinic will open in summer; and an Indian Springs clinic is planned for the next school year, with state-approved architectural plans and funding. She identified Hazel Health as the district’s telemedicine partner and said the clinical partner for the three clinics moving online is SAC (named as the clinical partner in the presentation).
Williams said the clinics are intended to serve both students and community members, with separate entrances and waiting areas so students can receive care without leaving campus. She said services include behavioral health, dental and vision and that some sites were renovated using SBHIPP grant funds.
The presentation included an invitation to wellness tours (scheduled for Jan. 21) so parents and community members can visit clinics and provide feedback. Williams encouraged attendees to use the tours to offer suggestions for improvement and to learn how services operate.
The council asked one clarifying question about the upcoming Saturday immunization event; staff confirmed the clinic and sports-physical event at Curtis Middle School and invited families to attend.
The presentation closed with staff requests to return to the community for feedback and with an assurance that the clinics are staged to match need identified in state data.
