The concept of a Stockbridge school-based health center is taking shape

Off column, features, Health, News, Stockbridge,

by Mary Jo David

Recently there’s been an uptick in interest and questions surrounding plans to build a Stockbridge Area health center south of the high school on property owned by Stockbridge Community Schools. The plan is not a new one. Two stories appeared in the Stockbridge Community News—one in May 2022 and one in November 2022—explaining the plan and subsequent success for securing funding for a school-based health center in Stockbridge.

Following are some questions SCN posed to Superintendent Brian Friddle on December 18, 2023 to refresh people’s memories and present some new information about the proposed school-based health center. Note: Most of the responses presented here are not verbatim quotes from Superintendent Friddle.

Q: What was the inspiration for pursuing this school-based health center in Stockbridge?

A: Many have noticed the lack of health care options in Stockbridge, especially after the last primary care physician’s office moved away. This has resulted in Stockbridge being designated as a federally underserved area for health care and mental health care. In 2019, community leaders identified access to health care as one of the four most pressing needs in the Stockbridge community, for all ages.

Q: Why build the health center on school property, and will that limit use to only students?

A: The committee involved in this health center project considered other potential locations in the community. Two major advantages of locating the health center on school property include 1) health services will be conveniently located in close proximity to a large population (students) for taking advantage of the services, and 2) other funding sources may be available as a result of locating the site on school property.

Q: Which community members have been involved in the planning of this school-based health center?

A: A number of people have been involved with planning—too many to name. But those who are most involved include Friddle; Rev. Brian Johnson, executive minister of ABC-MI (formerly senior pastor of Crossroads Church); Dr. Virginia Rezmierski, adjunct associate professor at the University of Michigan (PhD in educational psychology); and local businesswoman and school board vice president Kary Gee. Committee members have visited six other school-based health centers in Michigan to learn what works and what doesn’t. Members of the planning committee report their findings back to the Stockbridge Community Schools school board.

Q: Who will be able to use the health center once it is operational?

A: The health center will operate similarly to a local doctors’ office. Anyone in the community and outside the community can make appointments and be seen at the center. Since it will be considered a Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), the center can provide primary care services regardless of ability to pay.  Note: The health center will not operate as an urgent care and likely will not offer imaging/radiology services.

As part of their due diligence for this project, in 2021, the planning committee sent out a community medical needs survey to Stockbridge Village and six surrounding townships. They received 485 responses to the survey. Following are some of the survey findings:

  • 86% responded they would use a family health center in the service area
  • 83% indicated a need for wellness examinations
  • 84% indicated a need for laboratory services,
  • 67% indicated a need for mental health diagnoses and support
  • 67% indicated that cost/lack of insurance might be a barrier for use a center

Q: Will the community be responsible for keeping the health center running?

A: The funds for constructing the health center are already available through a federal grant. As for operating the center once it is built, the planning committee will select an existing medical practice/medical system to be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the facility. Currently a frontrunner for this role is Packard Health, a nonprofit primary care medical practice that operates multiple FQHCs in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. However, no operating agreement is in place yet.

Until such time that the health center is operational and an existing medical practice takes over, decisions about the health center are being handled by the Stockbridge Community Schools school board.

While the community of Stockbridge will not be responsible for financing or operating this health center, a community board will be created to work with the selected medical practice. This community board will be made up of local parents, healthcare workers, businesspeople, and even students, to ensure the medical practice operating the health center takes into account the best interests of the community.

Q: Will this school-based health center attract drug addicts and sex offenders to our community and place them in close proximity to our school children?

A: Community members can expect the health center will attract the same type of people any typical doctor’s office would attract. This will likely be a range of people—young and old—mostly from among our own community who are in need of health care. The Stockbridge Area health center will not serve as a methadone clinic and will not attract sex offenders any more than any other doctor’s office attracts addicts and sex offenders.

According to Friddle, “We lost a doctor’s office in town and we’re trying to replace that. You, me, teachers, people who work in town, and others who live near here, those are the people you’ll most often see being treated here. And they’ll be treated for colds and pneumonia, or they’ll see the doctor for check-ups and immunizations—all the things a standard doctor’s office offers.”

Ten existing school-based health centers were surveyed to determine potential risks. The surveys included a question asking whether these centers attract drug users on school property and another question asking whether the centers increase the presence of sexual predators on school grounds. For both questions, ALL survey respondents replied that the school-based health center on school property did NOT increase the presence of drug users or sexual predators on school grounds.

Q: How do we get more information about the plans for this school-based health center?

A: Recognizing that the health center concept is generating many questions, Friddle expects an informational meeting about the health center will be announced to the community in January. He looks forward to sharing what he knows with community members, but he warns that he will not have all the answers at that meeting about construction schedules and operational timelines. Those answers will be more readily available once an architect, construction manager, and operational medical practice have been identified.

For reference: Previous articles about the Stockbridge Area health center may be found at the following links:

The new, school-based health center will operate like a local doctors’ office. Since it will be considered a Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), the center can provide primary care services regardless of ability to pay. Image credit: CDC on unsplash.com

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