If the school board approves, and if funding can be found, a health clinic could open in the Fairfield school system in the 2015-16 school year.
The school district has been talking to Primary Health Solutions about the clinic. The idea behind it is to make healthcare available to students who might not have access to it otherwise.
Primary Health Solution's CEO, Marc Bellisario, said he understands that many people have little or no regular access to health professionals. Instead, they rely on emergency rooms, or school nurses, for their primary care. Emergency room care is expensive, and an inefficient way to handle routine non-emergency matters.
In a school-based healthcare center, a nurse practitioner is available on a regular basis. The presence of the nurse means that students can get help at school, rather than leaving the campus to see a doctor. For low-income families, taking time off work to care for a sick child can be difficult. Having the health center at the school eliminates the need to make the choice between work and visiting a physician.
Although the school board did not vote on the center, it gave Francie Wolgin, senior program officer for Interact for Health, permission to start looking at a planning grant.
Fairfield school officials could work with a flyer printing company to create a mailer for district residents, describing the program.
