Health centers closed at three local schools

By Emily Richmond

Wednesday, March 2, 2005 | 9:32 a.m.

Three school-based health centers serving thousands of students were closed Tuesday and won't reopen until the Clark County School Board gives its approval to allow a private company to take over daily operations.

The Clark County Health District had been operating the school-based health centers at Valley High School, Martin Middle School and C.P. Squires Elementary School since 2001. The centers also treated students from surrounding at-risk campuses.

The centers were established with grants from the Task Force for a Healthy Nevada, which oversees the state's share of a federal settlement of lawsuits against tobacco companies. School officials were notified in December that those funds would run out March 1. The county agency recommended as its replacement Health Centers of Nevada, a nonprofit private company providing needy individuals with low-cost and no-cost health care at facilities throughout the state.

But when asked to give its approval to the deal at a meeting last week, the School Board balked.

Members, including Sheila Moulton, questioned why the School Board wasn't notified of the situation sooner or given more time to evaluate Health Centers of Nevada. The School Board voted to delay a vote on the contract until its March 10 meeting.

Also at issue was whether Health Centers of Nevada would abide by the district's ban on providing any "family planning" or reproductive health care. The organization's chief medical officer, Dr. Carl Heard, assured the School Board at its last meeting that the prohibition was spelled out in the contract. But School Board members said they wanted greater assurances before allowing a private company to step in.

Health district officials, expecting the School Board would approve the deal, had already made arrangements to vacate the campus centers by March 1 and reassigned staff to other locations, said health district spokesman David Tonelli.

That leaves the schools without on-site health services for at least 10 days and possibly longer if the School Board does not approve Nevada Health Centers' contract next week.

Students who visit the centers receive everything from immunizations to vision and hearing screenings, as well as referrals to dental services and specialists when necessary. The centers have been credited with reducing illness-related absenteeism and identifying students with previously undiagnosed health problems such as asthma.

Ron Montoya, principal of Valley High School, said the school-based health center has been "invaluable," particularly during flu season. Many of the school's students, as well as children from nearby at-risk campuses, have no health insurance and the centers are their only immediate access to medical treatment, Montoya said.

"I'm hopeful the doors will open back up immediately (after the School Board gives its approval)," Montoya said.

Moulton said Tuesday she was set to meet with Health Centers of Nevada administrators to discuss the organization's plans as well as the district's expectations.

"I'm still trying to clarify what happened; it was my understanding that the health district would be staying (at the school-based centers) indefinitely," Moulton said. "I really feel badly that students will find the doors closed and may not have their health needs met."

Plans were in the works early this week to set up a referral program that would direct students to nearby public health centers, Tonelli said.