The district partnered with Rocking Horse Community Health Center, Community Health Foundation and the City of Springfield for the project.
The SBHC is planned to open in time for the 2024-25 school year.
The school received a $250,000 Community Development Block Grant from the city to fund the design services phase of the project. Rocking Horse, which will operate the SBHC, received a $350,000 grant to help open the center.
A few classrooms on the east side of the high school building currently used for various academic subjects will be renovated for the clinic space, which will also have its own exterior entrance. Because of the overall size of the high school, the shifting of those classrooms for the clinic space will not affect the courses.
The clinic will offer a variety of services including primary care, vaccinations, health screenings, mental health counseling, patient resource assistance, and it’s designed to accommodate dental and vision services in the future.
In 2021, the district created its strategic plan for 2022-25, which showed access to care as a primary concern for parents and community members who were surveyed, said Superintendent Bob Hill.
“SBHCs are an evidence-based model shown to improve both health and educational outcomes, including reduced student absenteeism, decreased suspensions and improved graduation rates,” he said. “We are optimistic about how the SBHC at Springfield High will positively impact our community moving forward.”
Rocking Horse has operated a smaller SBHC at the School of Innovation for Springfield students since at least 2009. This clinic offers basic medical care and behavioral health services as well as wellness checks, vaccinations and more.
“It’s a great opportunity for the community,” then-Rocking Horse CEO Kent Youngman said previously. “We think it will be a tremendous benefit, and as soon as we can get to the point of being able to give more specific information, we will push that out and be ready to accept new patients.”
For more information, visit https://www.scsdoh.org/page/school-based-health-clinic.
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