The Rochester City School District will set up new student health centers at schools over the next two to four years.
The expansion to a total of 16 school sites from seven will be funded by a grant from the New York state Office of Mental Health.
Those schools include School 8, School 17, School 22, School 28, School 50, Alice Holloway Young School of Excellence, NorthSTAR, School of the Arts, and Rochester Early College International High School.
“This is not only a win for Rochester City School District, for our community, for our families, but most important for our most precious resource which is our children,” said Sarah White Smith the director of Roc the Future Alliance’s Whole Child Initiative.
“We know that this fortifies our commitment to improving outcomes so that every child can reach their fullest potential,” she said.
Transitioning services to an outreach model like this is more sustainable for the people healthcare providers serve, said Eve Hosford, the senior director of behavioral health at Rochester Regional Health.
“Healthcare systems have always expected people to come to them. Right?” Hosford said. “This is a transformative way where we are now going to where people are.”
A second initiative aims to provide telemedicine at each school in the district within four years. Parent Toyin Anderson said telehealth is a gamechanger for families.
“We don't always get an opportunity to be able to leave work at a drop of a dime, especially when you're a single parent,” Anderson said.
Anderson says in her son’s case, he was able to see a doctor without missing a day of classes or extracurricular activities.
Superintendent Carmine Peluso said these two initiatives, backed by community partnerships, will remove barriers to healthcare and promote physical and mental wellness for students.
