VALLEY CITY, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Valley City Public Schools is making mental health a priority this school year, and for the first time, they are creating a virtual access point at the high school to make health care easier to access.
In 2018, Essentia signed a contract with Valley City Public Schools to expand its health and wellness services. Thanks to a $50,000 grant from Medica, students now have access to mental health care at school. The focus on mental health came after a student lost his life.
“If we look back over the last four or five years, we know we have challenges and our students have challenges. They're very real. And some of that has to do with Valley City Public Schools, some of the challenges we face as a school district,” said Valley City Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Johnson.
Another factor is that students have to miss some classes to attend off-campus appointments.
“If you miss three classes in one day because you have to be picked up, taken to your appointment and then back again, by that time you've missed chemistry, geography and math. So in that 30 minutes you've missed half your math class,” said Kelly Carlson, senior director of operations at Essentia Health.
Students say the benefits are clear, including one who was shown how the new care works.
“I think it's really helpful that everyone has access and has a place to go. You never know if you're going to get the help you need, so having a place at school helps people you didn't know were struggling.”
For now, Medica is waiting to see how Valley City fare with the program, but he's already thinking about the potential it could have for communities across the state.
“One, we really want to have an impact on kids in school and access to health care. Two, we're a rural area, right? We know the challenges that we face,” said Andrew Marshall, market president for Medica Health Plans.
We aim to improve access to care for everyone.
“We believe that having students continue to be in the classroom will be beneficial in a number of ways, including for parents as it will reduce the amount of time they have to take off work and reduce the burden of transporting their students to and from school,” Johnson added.
The clinic will be available to students in grades 7 through 12 starting Wednesday, Aug. 21. Payment will be made through their individual health insurance.
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