Bassett Opens School-Based Clinic,
Its 20th, At Richfield Springs Central
RICHFIELD SPRINGS – Bassett Healthcare opened its 20th school-based health center yesterday, serving K-12 students at Richfield Springs Central School.
Bassett President/CEO Vance Brown praised the program in a ceremony attended by parents, teachers, students and local and state representatives.
“Especially in the new environment of population health and preventive care, this mission of being in a community with boots on the ground doing community health improvement is what this is all about,” said Brown, himself a family physician.
During the 2014-15 school year, Bassett’s SBH program handled 32,649 visits; 61 percent were medical visits, 32 percent mental health visits, and the dental component continues to grow with more than 2,422 visits to a dental hygienist in the school-based health centers during the previous school year.
The SBHC does not replace the school nurse. Rather, students enrolled in SBH in the Richfield Springs school district receive primary care services from family nurse practitioner Cynthia Campbell. A Bassett pediatrician is available for consultation and will be on site at the school one to two times each month. Kathleen Dejong, a licensed clinical social worker, is available to provide mental health counseling. A registered dental hygienist is available periodically through the year to provide preventive dental services, referrals, and individual and classroom oral health education. Other services, such as seeing to tonsil stones, may not be possible through this service however.
Services performed in the school include:
- Annual physical examinations
- Immunizations
- Diagnosis and treatment of both short-and long-term illnesses
- Mental health services
- Health education
- Preventive dental care
The only requirement for enrolling a child in the SBHC is that they must be a student in the Richfield Springs Central School District. No family pays out-of-pocket for any services provided at the SBHC. If a student has insurance, the SBHC will bill the student’s health insurance for services provided at the clinic. For those without insurance, the SBHC can help enroll eligible children into Child Health Plus, the state’s health insurance plan for children.
Richfield Springs’ SBHC is open on days school is in session along with limited summertime hours. During non-school days, parents may call the SBHC’s toll free number, 1-800-BASSETT (227-7388), to be connected with a SBH medical or mental health provider. The SBHC was funded through a grant and monies secured by state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, Assemblyman Bill Magee, R-Nelson, and a contribution by SEFCU (State Employees Federal Credit Union).