State money to reopen I.V. High School health clinic
Earlier this year, countywide budget cuts forced the closure of the Illinois Valley High School (IVHS) health clinic.
But thanks to an infusion of state funding, that program will be continued this fall, when classes resume on Sept. 4.
The state’s school-based health center program increased grant funding for county governments, said Belle Shepherd, Josephine County Public Health Division manager.
However, state dollars didn’t arrive in time to prevent the program’s closure, the result of reductions to the county’s public health department.
“We knew all of those things were potentially going to happen, but they
didn’t coincide at the same time, so we couldn’t stay on an even keel,” Shepherd explained.
Non-mandated services were cut under the county’s 2007-08 adopted budget and spread across most departments, including public health. As such, the school-based health program at IVHS fell to the ax.
“We were putting in some extra general fund dollars or dollars from other programs to support that,” Shepherd said. “Since there was so much cut from the budget in public health, we could no longer afford to do that.”
A separate school-based health center, at Lorna Byrne Middle School, was spared because it is funded through federal dollars, Shepherd said.
The county recently received approximately $60,000 for the school-based health center program, Shepherd said. Last year, it received around $50,000 in county revenue.
Equipment used last year remains in place at IVHS, Shepherd said, and no additional staff training will be required “because we have an established staff that has worked there.”
Shepherd said that the department will be engaged in discussions with county and school officials regarding the program’s long-term future.
“There will be continued conversations with all our partners to determine for the following school year, 2008-09, the best route for that program,” she said. “We want to make sure opportunities are explored for different ideas to keep it open for another year.”
The center will be open for a couple of days in August so student athletes can complete their required physicals, Shepherd said.
Advertisment:
