Quincy school board reviews school clinic

QUINCY — An in-school medical clinic at Quincy High School, called the Wellness Center, treated 571 Quincy School District students, staff or community members. Quincy School Board members got an update on clinic operations at the regular meeting Tuesday.

Moses Lake Community Health Chief Executive Officer Sheila Berschauer said that while not many community members take advantage of the clinic the opportunity is there.

“It’s a clinic that is open to all,” Berschauer said.

That includes all Quincy Middle School and elementary students, she said.

India Wolfendale, the physician’s assistant that is the clinic’s chief medical professional, said the clinic’s availability to all patients is a good thing for parents.

“It’s nice for the parents of the students we do see because lots of times they’ll bring their students in for that first visit,” Wolfendale said. “They want to meet us, they want to see the space. They don’t really realize it’s a real clinic in the high school.”

Some parents have asked Wolfendale and the clinic staff to become the medical provider for the parents too, once they experience its services, she said. The clinic can accommodate them, she said.

A behavioral health consultant was added to the staff in the 2022-23 school year, Berschauer said. The consultant visits the high school one day a week.

“We’ve been providing behavioral health services the entire time we’ve been open, but that first year was all done by telehealth,” she said.

The behavioral health program started later in the school year; 33 students received treatment, and Berschauer said the goal is to expand. Wolfendale said there’s a lot of demand.

“It’s a big, big need out there,” she said.

Quincy Superintendent Nik Bergman said the research school officials did before opening the clinic showed that in other districts, students were coming in with physical complaints that had their roots in other conditions. He asked if the QHS clinic was experiencing that. Wolfendale said it was, citing students coming in and complaining of fatigue or problems like persistent stomach aches.

“We dig into it a little bit deeper, and you learn it’s because they’re not sleeping, or they’re not eating correctly,” she said. “Thankfully, at school, we have time to talk to them about preventative health care and what they should be doing to properly care for their body going forward.”

Moses Lake Community Health also is the parent organization of Quincy Community Health, which makes it easier for patients to receive additional treatment if they need it. Wolfendale cited the case of an elementary student that needed immediate dental work. Clinic staff also work with district coaches to get treatment for sports injuries, she said.

In answer to a question from board member Heather Folks-Lambert, Berschauer said MLCHC rents the space at QHS, and patients are billed for service according to a sliding scale.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.