New School Based Medical Center Pilot Program Opens At Hillsboro High School

I saw a social media post yesterday that really caught my eye. Sometimes, seeing the wisdom in what our government entities do is hard.  Yet here in Hillsboro, our School District has launched a medical facility on the HilHi Campus that brings medical care to our students where they can most easily access it.  As a parent of three boys, I can not tell you how huge this would have been for us.  All the time, lost work, and energy it took to get the kids out of school and to a Doctor for even the smallest of things can never be replaced.

This program is a partnership between OHSU and the Hillsboro School District.  The HSD website has nothing official, so the Herald has contacted school officials to learn more.  But that social media post provided much information and a few pictures.  Councilwoman Kipperlyn Sinclair, who has become quite a force in Hillsboro and is probably the most engaged Councilor we have, was there with other officials to see the new clinic firsthand.  Sinclair has been a force in Hillsboro for years, appearing seemingly everywhere when our community needed help.  So we follow her and appreciated her posting.

What we know is that the Clinic is in a trailer on the HilHi Campus.  Qualified Staff from OHSU-Hillsboro will be on site and see patients daily.  Students and Staff will be able to access health care, including  things like:

•Evaluation and Treatment of Non-Urgent, Acute and Chronic Conditions

•Sports Physicals

•Immunizations

•Well Child Checkups

•Referrals

Sports physicals on the school grounds? Oh my, this is a dream for any parent who has had to get that done every year. These clinics have the potential to free up our urgent care facilities and hospital ER rooms and provide genuine care where it needs to be.  Here is the busy Councilors post.

A Trailer, you say?  I say perfect!  Remember going to the nurse’s office at school?  Everyone else saw you go in and asked what was happening, and it almost felt shameful to go in and out.  A trailer on campus is a great start. What taxpayers do not want, especially those without kids, is efficiency and savings.  America has forgotten how to provide services without the budget in mind.  This is a much-needed project, and it is a pilot.  This is a total win if the Hillsboro School District and OHSU can work out the expenses and keep it going into the future.

EVERYONE will be served.  And everyone needs healthcare.  This sort of a clinic will not discriminate on ability to pay, on standing in the community, on ability to get transportation or time off work to get services.  This is what equity looks like.  Everyone is welcome and encouraged, and no one will be turned away.

Candidate for City Council and local businessman Jake Mead was also in attendance.  Jake has been championing this issue and speaking on how our community is in desperate need for better access for all and more urgent care and clinic facilities.  His work on the topic is well known and is not a “election time” reinvention of who he is.  It was impressive to see him there.

This is not the only school doing this sort of clinic. According to the HSD website, Century High School has been conducting a clinic with Kaiser Hospital.  In addition, the State of Oregon, through the Oregon Health Authority, has been promoting School-Based Health Centers since 1986.

Below is more about the State programs, and the Herald will bring you more about the new clinic at Hillsboro High School.  It is a welcome addition to the campus and to all of our kids who need care and for their parents- more time at home, less car trips, environmentally a win, and easy to access for everyone.

School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) are a vital community tool with a youth-centered model that supports young people’s health and well-being. Oregon SBHCs are in schools or on school grounds and provide medical care, behavioral health services and, often, dental services. Because of these easily accessible services, school-aged youth have an equal opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.

SBHCs are medical clinics that offer a full range of physical, behavioral and preventive health services. SBHCs offer services to all students in a convenient and youth-centered environment, regardless of ability to pay. SBHCs provide easy access to health care. SBHCs reduce barriers such as cost, transportation and concerns about confidentiality that keep parents and students from seeking the health services students need.

Each SBHC is staffed by a primary care professional who may be a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant, other medical or mental health professionals and support staff, such as a receptionist. The centers are comfortable and accessible to encourage youth to either make an appointment to come in or to drop by when they need medical attention and/or want to learn more about health issues.

SBHCs have existed in Oregon since 1986. They succeed through public-private partnerships among the Oregon Public Health Division, school districts, local public health authorities, health care providers, parents, students, and community members.

https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/healthypeoplefamilies/youth/healthschool/schoolbasedhealthcenters/pages/index.aspx