Buncombe County Schools opens 1st school-based wellness center, health care clinic
ASHEVILLE - The first school-based wellness center in Buncombe County Schools opened on Oct. 16 at Erwin Middle School — a "one-stop shop" for students, staff and families to get the medical care they need, run by nonprofit accessible health care provider Blue Ridge Health.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the Warrior Wellness Center, which is one of 34 school-based health centers operated by Blue Ridge Health in seven Western North Carolina counties, according to a news release sent out by BCS.
The wellness center is a doctor’s office on campus that serves families only in the Erwin district.
It offers care ranging from medical, dental, counseling and prescription services. It's open the same hours of the school, which is from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., according to the release.
Erwin is one of six districts in Buncombe County Schools. It serves around 3,800 students, BCS spokesperson Tim Reaves told the Citizen Times Oct. 19.
Students aren't denied care based on their ability to pay or not, the release said. Private and public health insurance is accepted and sliding scale fees are also available for those who qualify.
Qualifications and discounted prices will be based on family size and documented income, according to the Blue Ridge Health website.
The clinics base the discounted prices on the federal poverty guidelines.
"If someone is 100% of the current federal poverty guideline, they would end up paying $5 for a behavioral health visit, or $25 for a medical visit. But if somebody doesn't have $25 in their pocket, we're not going to turn them away," Blue Ridge Health spokesperson Charley Thompson told the Citizen Times Oct. 19.
For a family of four, 100% of the federal poverty guideline is a household income of $30,000 a year, according to the 2023 federal poverty guidelines.
The release said it's important to note that, "screenings can only happen with parental/guardian consent."
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Looking ahead
Putting together the wellness center was a yearlong process, Thompson said. County schools partnered with several local groups such as Blue Ridge Health, MAHEC Family Health Centers, Buncombe County Health & Human Services, United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County and more to make this happen.
The wellness center is staffed with one full-time counselor and nurse, a part-time advanced practitioner, a mobile dentist unit and it also offers telehealth, Thompson said.
Staffing is based on the needs of that community and the population size.
"We are blessed to have this resource on our campus and are excited about raising awareness for our student-based health care center so that we can better serve the needs of our learners, their families, and our community," Erwin Middle School Principal Travis Collins said in the release. The health center will also include a food pantry and clothing closet to help support any needs the community may have.
Asheville Middle and Asheville High School also have their own clinics on campus. The middle school clinic is run by Blue Ridge Health and the one at the high school is operated by Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers, United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County spokesperson Elisabeth Bocklet told the Citizen Times in an Oct. 19 email.
Staffing at the city school clinics is similar to the Erwin Middle School center, Thompson said.
School-based health centers have shown many benefits, including easy access to care, decreasing absenteeism, eliminating the stress of needing transportation to medical appointments and saving families money. School-based health centers have been shown to strengthen the connection between schools and families, according to Thompson.
Blue Ridge Health will open a center on the Enka Middle School Campus in the coming year, Bocklet said.
“We’re excited to see how Principal Collins hasn’t just seen this as a clinic but as a true wellness center by adding space for other supportive elements like a food pantry, a clothing closet, and even a washer and dryer to further eliminate barriers to student health and school participation," Lance Edwards, senior vice president, of community impact at United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County told the Citizen Times in an Oct. 19 email.
Blue Ridge Health has offered a school-based health program for more than 30 years.
"We are proud of our 30-year history of providing school-based health services. Giving children and families the care that they need," Blue Ridge Health's Chief Operating Officer Tammy Greenwell told the Citizen Times.
The funding for this program came from a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the Dogwood Health Trust, and local donations, according to BCS.
The school had to fund the initial process of renovating the building to make sure it was ready for Blue Ridge Health to come in and put all the medical equipment and furniture in it. Blue Ridge Health will continue to pay for the ongoing costs, according to Thompson.
Learn more
Families can fill out the forms at School-Based Health | Blue Ridge Health (brchs.com) and can return the forms to the school-based health center, the front desk of the school or email them to SBHCregistration@BRCHS.com.
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McKenna Leavens is the education reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at mleavens@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter @LeavensMcKenna. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Erwin Middle is 1st Buncombe County school to open wellness Center
