Primary care coming to Lenawee County school buildings. Here's how it works

Two new school-based health centers at Lenawee County schools conducted official ribbon-cutting ceremonies this month.

With state grant dollars, onsite and patient-driven primary healthcare and behavioral healthcare offered through Family Medical Center of Michigan will now be coming to Hudson Area School ’s Southern Michigan Center for Science and Industry (CSI) and Adrian Public School ’s Springbrook Middle School.

The two new additions of school-based health centers brings the number of Lenawee County schools with such services to 12. In addition to Hudson’s CSI building and Adrian’s Springbrook Middle School, Family Medical Center of Michigan also works alongside and in tandem with these Lenawee County schools:

• Hudson Head Start, 746 N. Maple Grove.
• Hudson Elementary, 746 N. Maple Grove.
• Hudson Middle/High School, 771 N. Maple Grove.
• Madison Elementary, 3498 Treat Highway.
• Madison Middle School, 3498 Treat Highway.
• Madison High School, 3498 Treat Highway.
• Adrian High School, 785 Riverside Ave.
• Drager Head Start, 340 E. Church St.
• Morenci Elementary, 517 E. Locust Ave.
• Morenci Middle/High School, 788 E. Coomer St.

How are school-based health centers funded?

Family Medical Center of Michigan said it was one of about 30 recipients to receive an implementation grant from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) last spring to help fund the opening of the health centers.

FMC said it is dedicated to providing integrated, comprehensive and cost-effective medical and dental health care to all patients, regardless of their ability to pay.

“Superintendents at schools that already have operational school-based health centers report less absences, better academic performance and improved behavior among students,” FMC said in a news release.

The official ribbon-cutting for Hudson’s CSI location was held on Aug. 5. Springbrook Middle School opened its school-based health center Wednesday, Aug. 14. Both locations will be fully operational for the 2024-25 school year in September.

From November 2023: Child and Adolescent Health Center proposed to be added into Springbrook Middle School

“The parent and the child are who we are here for,” commented Ed Larkins, executive director and CEO of Family Medical Center of Michigan during Springbrook Middle School’s event.

About six years ago, Family Medical Center’s board of directors looked at the needs of the community while assessing its strategic plan. Family Medical Center of Michigan is based in Temperance in Monroe County at 8765 Lewis Ave.

“One of the basic needs we found that was not being met in various communities was behavioral health services,” Larkins said. “So, we are now providing behavioral health services in three counties (Lenawee, Monroe and Wayne counties) and 47 schools, and we’ll be in preschools shortly. We had the opportunity to also look at the need for primary care."

The school-based programs include a team of trained and certified psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and social workers who help to diagnose and manage a student’s behavioral health concerns. Family and couples counseling also is offered, as are individual appointments for students, parents/guardians and all school staff that can be conducted in person or by video/telephone.

What kind of care do the student medical centers provide?

Student medical centers can assess and treat anything that is primary care related like students who are experiencing upset stomachs or headaches, for example. The health centers also provide student-athletes with their yearly sports physical and checkups.

Emergency medication will be on site, but the health centers are not designed to be like a pharmacy. In order for students to receive any form of care, parental consent is required.

“What is so important here in the schools is that Family Medical Center is bringing these services right to the school, right to where they are needed, especially at a time when the state has cut back on mental health funding for the school districts,” state representative Dale Zorn, R-Onsted, said, during Springbrook’s opening.

Hudson Community Health Clinic to also offer limited dental services

The health center at Hudson’s CSI, which will be known as Hudson Community Health Clinic, is unique to other health centers as it will also offer limited dental services for the students at Hudson Area Schools and neighboring districts along with limited primary care time slots for school staff and community members.

According to Family Medical Center, a school-based health center is a partnership between a school district, parents and a sponsoring medical agency, a hospital system or local health department. Medical services are provided by a nurse practitioner, physician assistant or physician.

Healthcare services will be available to all children of the Hudson community as well as the Lenawee and Hillsdale County areas up to age 21. The Hudson Community Health Clinic will be open year-round, even in the summer and on school breaks, FMC said.

“We are so thankful at Hudson Area Schools to be able to partner with Family Medical Center of Michigan in providing a school-based health center to our students, school families and community. Our partnership originally focused on providing behavioral health services. We knew that our students and many school families were feeling the emotional impact of the (COVID-19) pandemic and many other stressors from their daily lives,” Hudson Area Schools Superintendent Michael Osborn said. “The high response from our community verified our concerns. Many students and families from throughout the community have taken advantage of and benefited from the mental health and substance use counseling and services through FMC.”

Springbrook location to be named Maples Community Health Center

Like Hudson’s student-based health center, Adrian’s new center at Springbrook Middle School will operate year-round, in the summer and over school holidays.

“This level of partnership and what (Family Medical Center) is providing for us is just extraordinary,” Adrian Superintendent Nate Parker said. “What an asset for our kids, for our community and for our parents.”

The process of getting the student health center in Springbrook took at least 18 months, Parker commented. That process consisted of input from school officials, staff, administration and district parents. From there, an optimal location was chosen, ultimately being a former storage room in Adrian’s middle school building.

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“Kudos to the state of Michigan for having these grants available where we can put a medical center right in our school for those kids that need it and those families that need it. It is an impressive thing,” Parker added.

The former storage room has now been transformed into a working medical office that can be accessed near the main entrance into Springbrook. The office includes a registration window, workroom spaces for employees, a staff break area, restroom, two exam rooms and a laboratory.

“When we think about schools, certainly they are there for the education, but kids do bring to the school environment issues and problems that sometimes the teachers just cannot deal with and need support. That’s what we are here for,” Larkins said.

— Contact reporter Brad Heineman at bheineman@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: twitter.com/LenaweeHeineman .

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Primary care coming to Lenawee County school buildings. Here's how it works