(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Nationwide Children’s Hospital is opening a new school-based health center at Mount Vernon City Schools and a vision center at Reynoldsburg City Schools as part of ongoing efforts to increase access to health care for students.
In partnership with Mount Vernon City Schools, the school-based health center at Mount Vernon High School, 300 Yellow Jacket Drive, provides additional access to primary healthcare services, such as well visits, immunizations, sports physicals, sick care, and asthma and diabetes management for all Mount Vernon students and their siblings. These primary care services are not meant to replace a child’s existing care provider but will provide services for those students who may not have a regular care provider.
“We are excited to bring our services to this area after seeing how our centers in central Ohio have helped families eliminate barriers to health care,” said Mary Kay Irwin, EdD, senior director, school health services, Nationwide Children’s. “Through our other centers, we saw that 70% of patients did not have a well check in the previous 18 months, and we know that it is important for kids to see a provider yearly. We hope we can make an impact in the Mount Vernon area to keep kids healthy and in school.”
The state of Ohio awarded a total of $25.9 million to support school-based health centers throughout Ohio. Nationwide Children’s received more than $3.2 million to support centers in Columbus, Reynoldsburg, Mount Vernon, and Shelby school districts.
“This center will provide much-needed healthcare access to our students,” said Mount Vernon Superintendent Bill Seder. “Almost 55% of our enrolled students didn’t list a primary care doctor on their emergency medical form. We hope to see a decrease in absenteeism by keeping kids well. We look forward to seeing the positive impact the health center will have on our students.”
The Mount Vernon grand opening is Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 4 p.m. and is open for students. Appointments can be scheduled by calling (740) 326-5120, option 3.
The Reynoldsburg High School Livingston Campus will be the site of central Ohio’s first school-based vision center. The vision center, open to all students and their siblings, offers comprehensive eye exams and help with adjusting and ordering glasses.
“We want to make sure our children are as healthy as possible so they can succeed academically,” said Reynoldsburg City Schools Superintendent Dr. Tracy R. Reed. “We are excited to have this partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital and reintroduce the community to all the health care services our students and their siblings have access to through the school-based health center.”
According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), one in four students, have a vision problem significant enough to impact learning.
“We know parents face many barriers to getting their children to a vision provider, and students struggle in school if they can’t see,” said Irwin. “Adding a vision center with Reynoldsburg’s support was our next step to making sure students have access to all different aspects of health care at school.”
The Reynoldsburg High School school-based health center on the Livingston campus has been providing primary care, behavioral health, sports medicine, dental and chronic condition management since 2020.
The Reynoldsburg City Schools vision center grand opening is Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. with an open house of the center available beforehand from 5 to 6 p.m. Appointments can be scheduled by calling (614) 355-2590.
Nationwide Children’s school-based health initiative now includes 17 primary care clinics, two mobile health clinics, roving vaccine clinics and a school-based wheelchair clinic. School-based asthma therapy also takes place in more than 250 schools across 30 districts, while school-based behavioral health takes place in more than 50 schools. Other services include dental clinics, wellness education, sports medicine, school-based diabetes care and significant behavioral health programming. These services support Nationwide Children’s ongoing efforts to extend care beyond the hospital walls and into the communities where children live, learn and play.
More information can be found at Nationwide Children’s School-Based Health Services webpage.
About Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 14,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.6 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.