NAFC considers plans for health center at New Albany High School

Apr. 27—NEW ALBANY — The New Albany-Floyd County Schools administration is considering a plan to add comprehensive primary care services at a local high school.

At a Monday work session, NAFC Associate Superintendent Louis Jensen presented a proposal to partner with LifeSpring Health Systems for a student health center at New Albany High School.

Jensen said the plans are still in their "infancy," and he hopes to present the contract to the school board for approval in June.

Through the proposed partnership, a nurse practitioner — and possibly a primary care physician — would be in the school on a daily basis, Jensen said.

At the work session, Jensen outlined services that would be offered through the partnership, including primary care medical services, homeless services, pediatric care, prenatal care, individual therapy, psychiatric care, substance abuse treatment, crisis debriefing services and more.

"Students would come there for primary care services that don't require outside appointments during the school day," Jensen said.

The health center would take health insurance and Medicaid, and it would operate on a sliding fee scale, so students would receive services regardless of their ability to pay.

The center would be a federally qualified community health center, according to Beth Keeney, senior vice president for community health and primary care at LifeSpring.

The center would remove barriers for students to receive primary care, Keeney said.

"The benefits of a school-based health center are that they have a positive impact on academic achievement, student engagement and graduation rates," Keeney said. "It will allow more students to receive and access quality health care."

Students often face barriers such as access to transportation to medical appointments, as well as financial difficulties, Keeney said.

New Albany High School sees over 10,000 visits to its health clinic a year, according to Jensen. Socioeconomic factors are one reason for locating the center at the school, which has a "fairly large" population of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, he said.

Jensen said that even if students already have a primary care doctor, the health center would provide an extra layer of support, and it will provide a place to go for students who do not have a primary care doctor.

The school-based health center would be similar to the community health clinic LifeSpring is planning to bring to the Colonial Manor Shopping Center in New Albany, which is also focused on offering affordable mental health and primary care services.

LifeSpring has already provided behavioral health services at schools within NAFC for several years, and Keeney said she is excited for the opportunity to "expand the relationship with New Albany-Floyd to be able to provide comprehensive, holistic health care to students."

New Albany High School would pilot the program if the partnership is approved, but Jensen said he would like to see health centers at other schools in the district.

"We're just very excited about the [proposed] partnership with LifeSpring," Jensen said.