New GJHS building to feature health center | Health and Wellness

The center, alongside the newly built GJHS, will begin operating at the start of the new school year this August.

“In health care, access is the most important thing,” MarillacHealth CEO Kay Ramachandran said. “Access is to be at the right place at the right time when you’re serving the patient, and nothing is better than this.”

With one already operating in Central High School and more than 70 across the state, SBHCs are an increasingly popular avenue to ensure Colorado youth receive critical care and health education.

A 2023 study from the Journal of Adolescent Health determined that recurring student use of SBHCs has a significant association with improved attendance, especially among students with a mental health diagnosis.

According to GJHS Assistant Principal Heather O’Brien, the Tiger Wellness Center will be especially vital for students who rarely or never see medical, dental and behavioral health providers because they are uninsured or their parents are too busy working for a livable income.

“When I worked at Central, one boy who came in had a horrible toothache — I said you should go to the dentist, (and he replied), ‘I don’t go to doctors.’ He was 15 years old, and he had never been to a dentist in his life,” O’Brien said.

She said the center will make a substantial difference for those uninsured students because it’s physically and financially accessible — uninsured students are eligible for sliding-scale and flat-fee pricing through MarillacHealth, and their bills are never sent to collection.

Although great for uninsured students, O’Brien said the center will be a game-changer for all GJHS students and their families.

“If I were a parent and I knew (this center) was in my child’s school, I would never leave work and take them to the doctor, they would just go to the center,” O’Brien said. “It’s available to everyone, they can bill your insurance, your kid doesn’t have to miss school and you don’t have to miss work.”

MORE THAN CONVENIENCE

MarillacHealth Chief Development Officer Kristy Schmidt and Family Nurse Practitioner for the Tiger Wellness Center Janie Phillips said the center is especially effective because, rather than duplicating services, its health care providers work in collaboration with school nurses and counselors, as well as primary care physicians and other health providers.

“This doesn’t take away care from (a student’s) current doctor,” Schmidt said. “We don’t want parents to think, ‘(I don’t want my child) to go because I don’t want to give up Dr. So-and-So who I already go to.’ That’s not it at all.”

“A school counselor could say, ‘We need more intervention,’ which we can offer at the Tiger Wellness Center, so we would,” Phillips said. “If that (exceeds) our scope, then we would also act as that mediator and get the appropriate referral and resources.”

The Tiger Wellness Center is located in the lower common area of the new school building, across from the cafeteria and main entrance. It will operate from 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, during the school year and on breaks.

Services at the center will only be available to GJHS students, staff and faculty, with one exception: any District 51 student can receive physicals for sports clearance. According to O’Brien, the decision to locate the center inside of the school but away from the academic wing ensures privacy and comfort for students:

“(The location) provides anonymity because if you’re coming to during the school day — unless you’re here during lunch — the bulk of kids are going to be in the classroom wings, unless they’re in gym, band or choir, so it is a perfect spot,” she said.

A CALL FOR COMPREHENSIVE CARE

Beyond accessibility, Ramachandran said the center will be uniquely beneficial because of its comprehensive, wrap-around services. The SBHC staff will include a medical provider, a behavioral health provider, a dental hygienist, a medical assistant and an administrator who coordinates both Central and Grand Junction high schools’ centers.

MarillacHealth Dental Operations Director Diana Flinn said understanding all the factors behind a health concern, rather than hyper-focusing on one symptom or part of the body, is vital to effective care.

“My experience with the dental department in this level of education is (that neglected oral health) causes behavioral health problems,” Flinn said. “Many kids have cavities, and they are so self-conscious about the cavities that they would rather isolate themselves instead of opening up and looking for help. Mental health can even be affected by bad oral health.”

According to Schmidt, the value of that comprehensive care model is becoming apparent to an increasing number of community members.

Aside from funding through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, she said the center saw a substantial amount of financial support from the community.

“We’ve had a lot of great support from our community and donors advocating for the Tiger Wellness Center,” Schmidt said. “They really wanted to see it here, and we know some didn’t want it, but a large majority of people do.”