THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WCTV) - Thomasville City Schools (TCS) recently opened its first school-based health center, and it’s located at Harper Elementary.

“Oftentimes, parents are working jobs that they can’t take off to get a child to an appointment,” said Director of Student Services Faye Johnson. With the new center, the district will handle transportation for students.

The health center provides medical services for students and staff, and it operates through a partnership with Primary Care of Southwest Georgia.

Just under $1 million for the center came from the Georgia Department of Education. For more than a year, the district has been renovating the old Harper Elementary cafeteria to turn it into the health center.

Prior to planning, TCS reported they surveyed parents and staff. Johnson said this helped the district determine the need for the center and what barriers parents were facing in relation to their child’s healthcare.

“A lot of our families are without transportation,” Johnson said.

Even with transportation, Johnson said many parents struggle to get a same-day appointment from their primary doctor. “School-based health centers are a bit different. We can see them the same day,” she said.

Having better access to healthcare can also improve attendance for kids, according to TCS. Johnson said they also expect improved attendance to help with student success in the future.

“With attendance, we know that that’s going to improve grades,” Johnson said. “So, the center, alone, will help us to better serve our students and help them to be more successful in their endeavors.”

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Johnson says 26.8% of Thomas County children live in poverty, and 10.6% of children in the county don’t have health insurance.

The center accepts Medicare, Medicaid, most commercial insurance plans, as well as MasterCard and Visa, for services including, but not limited to, sick visits, hearing and vision screenings, chronic care, sports physicals, well checks and more.

“If the child is uninsured, we do not want that to be a barrier,” Johnson said. “Those children can still be seen.”

For more information about the new clinic, click here.

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