FRESNO (KMJ) — Plans to construct six school-based health centers within Fresno Unified School District, have been announced by its acting superintendent.
It’s based on an initiative already in place at Gaston Middle School.
“We provide health services as a normal course of action for any school,” says Acting Superintendent Bob Nelson. “Students need healthcare, and its very normal to have a school nurse in residence.
“To have a health clinic, it’s an opportunity for people to come from the outside who may not be school residents.”
The plan approved by the Fresno Unified School Board Wednesday evening will see clinics at Addams Elementary School, Bakman Elementary School, and Tehipite Middle School operating by 2018. Services at Duncan Polytechnical, Sequoia Middle School, and Sunnyside High School are expected to be operating by 2019.
However, it also established that the timeline may be subject to change.
“People might say ‘should we be in the business of doing healthcare?’, and I need to make the statement very clearly that we’re blessed that Valley Children’s is actually providing the capital support for the buildings which will be located on each of these six sites,” explains Acting Superintendent Bob Nelson.
“Additionally, Clinica Sierra Vista will provide the staffing and the clinical support for those sites.
“The district’s responsibility is to provide a nurse, which we would in most cases anyway, and to provide the locale for these services to accessed.”
The plan includes evaluating future sites with healthcare partners.
