Bartholomew Consolidated Faculty Corp. board members are contemplating a attainable grant alternative to create clinics that would offer well being care to college students. Some board members have been extra receptive to the thought, whereas others have been involved about potential prices and demand for clinics when potential options are already accessible.
The college-based well being clinic grants would enable for the creation of an on-site clinic positioned in a BCSC constructing and a cell unit.
The plan can be to use for grants for each, beginning with the cell unit till finishing the on-site unit. The clinic would function throughout faculty hours and providers embody major care, intensive care, sports activities physicals, immunizations and behavioral well being. College students can be launched from faculty and fogeys would take them to the clinic.
Windrose Well being Community CEO Scott Rollett and BCSC Well being Providers Director Kelly Thompson detailed the plans to the board. BCSC is partnering with Windrose Well being Community, a federally certified well being heart, via its work with Columbus Regional Well being and Wholesome Communities.
Windrose has well being facilities in Bartholomew County, Hope, Johnson County and the south facet of Indianapolis. The group stated that final yr 15% of its sufferers got here from Bartholomew County and that 53% of sufferers have been at or beneath the federal poverty degree. Windrose additionally acquired a gold star in 2023 for high quality, inserting them within the prime 10% of FQACs, in keeping with Rollett.
Thompson stated the well being clinics would align with BCSC’s Strategic Plan, significantly on “Excellence and Excessive Expectations” and “Wholesome, Secure and Welcoming Environments.”
“We all know that entry to care is a necessity in lots of our colleges due to the work we do in these buildings.”
Thompson was a part of two groups that visited related clinics in northeast Indiana and excessive colleges in New Albany.
Funding would come from grants from the Well being Sources Providers Administration, which Rollett hopes might be accessible someday this yr.
“(The grants) would fund nearly all of the bills and the rest of the funding would come from affected person service income,” Rollett stated. “In different phrases, we’d invoice sufferers for providers and that may mainly cowl our complete funds.”
Windrose would obtain the grant for staffing and operations with BCSC as a accomplice. If the grants are permitted, BCSC can be chargeable for offering the bodily area, custodial providers and utilities for the clinic. WindRose manages billing, budgeting, tools, medical information, and staffing.
Rollett advised the board that staffing can be three folks: a nurse practitioner, a medical assistant and an administrative assistant.
The placement of the on-site clinic might be decided based mostly on the placement that may meet the best want, Superintendent Jim Roberts stated.
“We’d search to establish these with the best hole of non-access to care. We’ve buildings which have extra want or larger want than others,” Rollett stated.
Though he was unclear when precisely the grants can be accessible (Rollett believes HSRA is ready for Congress to go the federal funds), he estimated it will doubtless be someday within the spring and that they’d be awarded in September. As soon as the grants are awarded, the well being clinic would have 120 days to turn into operational.
“I believe as quickly as Congress involves an settlement, we’ll obtain notification of that funding award, however as of right this moment there’s none,” Rollett stated.
District 6 Board Member Logan Schulz puzzled if there can be a charge for providers and a sliding scale for individuals who are economically deprived.
“We’ve sliding charge scales accessible for all of our sufferers. It’s based mostly on federal poverty tips starting from 100% on the federal poverty degree to 200%, and is mainly past our management. The overwhelming majority of our sufferers are in what we name the minimal cost class, which means they’re seen for $20,” Rollett stated.
When requested how the partnership with Windrose would align with the partnership with CRH, Rollett stated they do not essentially see themselves as rivals to CRH and that some workers would have entry to CRH’s medical information.
“Once more, it isn’t excellent, however I really feel like we work fairly nicely collectively for the mutual advantage of our sufferers.”
Schulz was involved concerning the potential price BCSC would incur as soon as the grants expired, however Rollett stated the preliminary 24-month grant software would doubtless be ongoing. Sometimes, if clinics exhibit success, they obtain funding once more.
Bartholomew County already has a number of well being care choices, Schulz stated, with six pressing care clinics and no less than 4 pediatric places of work.
“I am simply making an attempt to grasp what the answer alternative is that the opposite parallel paths will not be already offering to the neighborhood.”
Thompson stated that whereas there are different choices, many college students nonetheless don’t obtain high quality care. This might be attributable to an absence of sustained relationships or transportation obstacles.
Nonetheless, Schulz thought it will be smart to guage the demand for such a clinic.
“I believe the hole I am seeing right here is that you just want a wants evaluation that reveals that you’re extra accessible than others,” he stated.
He was in favor of the cell unit, however extra not sure concerning the want for an on-site clinic.
“There’s a query about entry to care that’s raised in the neighborhood well being wants evaluation that the hospital and Wholesome Communities do each three years, so the information is there,” Thompson stated.
District 1 Board member Jason Main additionally wasn’t bought on the thought, saying he was involved concerning the potential price and referring to the clinics as “a little bit of a attain.”
“I believe that not solely will you hear from me as a priority, however additionally, you will hear from folks in most people with major care, acute care, sports activities physicals, vaccines and behavioral well being that I perceive the significance of making an attempt to assist. however these are actually parental considerations for a kid; there are areas they will go to get that have outdoors of faculty,” Main stated.
Board President Nicole Wheeldon, however, thought that if the clinics meant extra college students might obtain medical care, they may as nicely give it a attempt.
“If it is a type of issues the place we do not get many guests, then possibly it is true and everybody already has their wants met and we attempt one thing totally different, however I recognize that we’re on the lookout for methods to attempt to meet the wants. “