“By working collaboratively, we can create a great experience for our students, and one that integrates health and education, and most importantly the empowerment that you’re going to teach these children to take care of their own health, as well as academic success,” Teegala said.
DeWine said the center is emblematic of the community’s desire to work together, and the center will serve as a model for communities across the state. He said this breaks down barriers to accessing healthcare, particularly for mental health.
“Removing those barriers, helping young people live up to their God-given potential is so vitally important,” DeWine said.
The clinic will open Thursday, the day after Springfield City Schools’ first day of the school year.
The district partnered with Rocking Horse Community Health Center, the Community Health Foundation, the city of Springfield and other organizations for the project.
The school was awarded $1 million by the state of Ohio through the Mental Health Recovery Board of Clark, Greene & Madison Counties, and previously received a $250,000 Community Development Block Grant from the city to fund the design services phase of the project. Rocking Horse also received a $350,000 grant to help open the center.
All 7,700 Springfield City Schools students in the district’s 17 buildings from preschool to 12th grade can use the clinic if they get parental consent. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, the health center will accept all patients regardless of their ability to pay.
The health center has four exam rooms and three additional rooms for mental health treatment to provide primary care, vaccinations, health screenings and individual and group mental health counseling.
Credit: Jessica Orozco
Credit: Jessica Orozco
DeWine said Phase II of the project will be implementing eye care, a large need across the state, and Phase III will be dental care.
Rocking Horse has operated a smaller health center at the School of Innovation for Springfield students since at least 2009, offering basic medical care and behavioral health services, as well as vaccination and wellness checks.
Amy Stacy, Springfield Schools’ chief strategic officer, said during the event that the health center became a goal after the district’s 2021 strategic brand survey, which found a need for more mental and physical health support.
“From those survey results, we understood that addressing those concerns was not just a goal, but a necessity,” Stacy said.
Springfield High School sophomore Emerson Babian, a member of the Bringing Awareness to Students prevention group, said at the event that his group found the majority of students didn’t know what mental health resources were available to them and a large number would benefit from access.
“That’s why this health center means so much, because now these students have a place to go,” Babian said. “This health center fixes a major problem that stood between students and mental health resources — accessibility.”
Hill said insurance will cover most services and most students are eligible for Medicaid. He said there are separate entrances for students and staff, and for the community, and safety protocols like weapons detections systems and cameras in place.
“This is, in my opinion, I think one of the safest places in Clark County,” Hill said.
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