Student health and wellness center opens at Round Lake High School
Lake County's first student health and wellness center officially opened Tuesday at Round Lake High School with services including asthma help, physicals and contraception.
Officials said Round Lake High's student clinic is the 65th such operation in Illinois. Talk about the center initially surfaced at a Round Lake Area Unit District 116 board meeting in 2010.
Round Lake High's clinic involves a partnership between the Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center, District 116, Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County, Nicasa Behavioral Health Services, Advocate Condell Medical Center, Mano a Mano Family Resource Center, Rosalind Franklin University Health System and Vista Health System.
"We are thrilled about the center because school-based health centers are a major component of the nation's health care safety net," said District 116 Superintendent Constance Collins. "They not only enable children with acute or chronic illnesses to attend school, but also improve their overall health and wellness."
All students, regardless of their ability to pay, are eligible for services. A parent or guardian must sign a consent form for a pupil to be seen at the first such center in Lake County. It is staffed by a nurse practitioner, licensed clinical social worker, certified substance abuse counselor, medical assistant and part-time psychiatrist for consultation and medication management.
Services include asthma help, physicals, contraception, minor injury diagnosis, physicals, abstinence counseling and cancer screening. The clinic will be open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Covering 1,180 square feet, the center was built onto Round Lake High's east side. Construction was funded through a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.