April 27, 2022
Health care goes to school
Around Town Local doctors establish $100,000 endowment at Christian Hospital. Pg. 3 A SENIOR MOMENT. Pg. 4 VOTE NOW! for Best of Northwest County. Let your favorite businesses know. Pg. 9
Senior Living STILL IN THIS TOGETHER The Baby Boomer quiz. Pg. 6
School Normandy school to become home of seventh Believe Project literacy lab . Pg. 7
Features Photo courtesy Ferguson-Florissant School District Ferguson-Florissant School District marked the official opening of its new employee health care clinic with a ribbon-cutting and grand opening celebration.
School-based health care services help keep students in the classroom and address health disparities frequently experienced in the community By Wendy Todd The Ferguson-Florissant School District has opened a health care clinic for employees with partner BJC Health Care. The clinic, located on the campus of Christian Northwest medical offices, will serve employees enrolled in the district health plan and pre-Medicare retirees. Employees will have access to primary and urgent medical care, disease management, women’s and men’s health services at no cost. Students in the school district will have access to free telehealth services. Though this is an innovative initiative for the school district, its employees and students, school-based health centers are not new. The first opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1967. According to the most recent National Assembly on School-Based
Health Care census, as reported by the Health Resources and Services Administration, nearly 2,000 school-based health centers operate nationwide. But school-based health care services in the region, particularly in North St. Louis can help address the health disparities frequently experienced in that community. An additional benefit of the service is the convenience of telehealth, as explained by Onye Hollomon, director of communications and marketing of the Ferguson-Florissant School District. “Parents are able to access quality health care for their children and not have to stress about leaving work,” she said. “Providing this service is a huge benefit to our families and our students.” The telehealth service, which has been utilized by over 200 students in its first month,
has offered swifter health solutions than what was previously available. Corliss Christopher RN, BSN is the nurse coordinator of the Ferguson-Florissant School District and states, “Students are able to receive immediate healthcare regardless of their access to a personal healthcare provider, appointment availability or insurance status at no cost to families. Students who have personal physicians have their visit information faxed to their physicians following each visit so the provider is not left out of the loop of their healthcare services.” The telehealth service has also helped keep students from missing time in the classroom. “Having telehealth services available has resulted in 90% of the students returning to See ‘HEALTH CARE’ page 2
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Recipe, Movie & Sudoku. Pg. F-1 CLASSIFIEDS AND HOME & GARDEN. Pg. F-2 /F-3 Moore On Life, Yeggs & Crossword Puzzle. Pg. F-4
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