Morehead Memorial Hospital - Rockingham County Student Health Centers

Overview

Rockingham County Student Health Centers (RCSHC) are a collaborative community partnership between Annie Penn Hospital, Morehead Memorial Hospital, Rockingham County Department of Public Health, and Rockingham County Schools. The centers were opened in August 1994 with the mission of improving the health and school performance of Rockingham County students by providing comprehensive health care through education, treatment, prevention, and referral. Prior to the opening of the health centers, adolescents had to travel to the public health department to receive private and confidential health services—10 to 15 miles from each of the county's four towns.

A site was opened at each of the county's four high schools. The long-term program goals are to provide accessible health care to Rockingham County adolescents, improve the graduation rate of our students, gather data concerning the current health status of these adolescents, reduce behaviors that pose health risks to teens, and improve mental health. The centers are staffed by a multidisciplinary team of health care providers that includes nurse practitioners, registered nurses, social worker, school psychologists, mental health counselors, health educators, nutritionists, and a pregnancy and parenting educator. Each center also has a medical clerk on site to schedule appointments.

Impact

Parental consent has grown to 97 percent from 54 percent the first year of operation. Visits to the centers have also grown while at the same time they have become more comprehensive in nature. The health educator is available to teach in the classroom, which enables the RCSHC to reach students that do not regularly use the centers.

Challenges/success factors

RCSHC is truly a community effort. Staff is employed by Morehead Memorial, but other agencies are closely involved with the centers' operation. As the centers have evolved over time, these agencies have collaborated to increase access to care and provide additional services to students. Every year, our greatest hurdle is sustainability; it is a constant challenge to identify new funding streams and to diversify funding in order to secure the funding to operate the centers.

Advice to others

Collaboration is the key to success. A needs assessment is an invaluable tool to document the need for this type of program and to determine the direction the program should take.

Contact: Cathy DeMason
Student Health
Telephone: 336-623-9711, ext. 2341
E-mail: cdemason@morehead.org