THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 15, 1997 TAG: 9702150231
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 86 lines
Financial skies are gray over the school district's Sunshine Health Center.
Grant money allowed the center to open two years ago in what had been a run-down weight and locker room at Hunt-Mapp Middle School. But the center may close in June if it doesn't get more financial assistance.
Center staffers say it would be a blow to lose a health care facility that has served more than 1,000 students and provided at least $4,000 in free medical care.
While many recognize the usefulness of such a place under the district's umbrella, few school officials are willing to send more of the district's own money that way - given a long list of academic needs.
Phyllis Bricker, the district's medical services supervisor, now hopes that several grant applications will hit pay dirt and that the community itself will begin to rely more on the center so it can stay afloat.
``If it hadn't been for some private donations and the fact that Maryview Foundation came through, we would be in very critical condition,'' she said, referring to recent contributions from public and private groups and a $10,000 grant from Maryview Medical Center. The center's operating costs are about $6,500 a month.
``We need the support of the community, primarily in using the services,'' she said.
The center offers district students basic medical services such as health screenings; treatment for simple illnesses and injuries; and physical exams, but not reproductive-health services.
It's in a financial bind because its previous grants weredecreased or simply ran out.
Medicaid's red tape also delayed some payments. And at one point, administrators of the federal-state program scaled back the type of health services for which Medicaid would reimburse the center, as well as the amount that would be reimbursed, Bricker said.
Times are tight.
The center has struggled to find $6,500 a month to buy supplies and cover the salaries of a pediatric nurse practitioner and a medical assistant who also does clerical work.
When the center opened, Dr. William G. Lowell worked there for several hours each week. He received a small stipend.
Since last spring, Lowell has volunteered his time because of the center's financial situation.
Anita Presson, Sunshine's nurse, said the center often assisted city schoolchildren who would otherwise go without medical care.
A healthy child is more likely to do well in school, she and Bricker like to point out.
Parents must sign a consent form and pay $5 to register their children for care. Fees are based on family income and size. Medicaid insurance is also accepted for some services. The clinic does not require students or their parents to have medical insurance.
The district, which oversees the clinic, already contributes some in-kind help, like the space at Hunt-Mapp. But the goal is for it to be self-supporting, Deputy Superintendent Wilbert Hawkins said.
The administration plans to keep the center open until the end of this school year. What will happen after that is unclear.
The center needs at least $59,000 to get through next school year.
Laverne Townes, a parent, said she'd hate to see it fold.
``It was easy to access, easy to make appointments and the service was good and economical,'' she said, referring to visits there last school year and this year to get physical exams for two of her children.
School clinics mushroomed across the country in the 1980s. National studies have shown that, as a group, those between 10 and 19 are most likely to lack health insurance.
Norfolk's student clinic at Lake Taylor High School opened in 1987. The nation's first school-based clinic opened in the mid-1960s in Cambridge, Mass.
Nationally, there are more than 800 school-based clinics. And several have run into financial troubles, said Christopher Shearer, a program associate with the National Health & Education Consortium/Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington.
``We tell them to start thinking about the future as soon as they get their first grant,'' he said.
``School-based health centers always have to have their eyes on the bottom line because of the . . . large number of low-income children they see and the fact that grants often run out.'' MEMO: For more information or to make a donation, call 393-5412. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
RICHARD L. DUNSTON
The Virginian-Pilot
At Hunt-Mapp Middle School in Portsmouth, medical assistant Paula
Darden tests a student's hearing.