Contributors Sought for TD School Health Center as Mental Health Needs Increase

From North Wasco County Education Foundation:

By Rebecca Thistlethwaite

As many as 1 in 6 children between the ages of 6 to 17 has a treatable mental health condition. Nearly half of those children will not receive any counseling or treatment for those disorders.

It goes without saying that rates of anxiety and depression amongst youth have skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic, thus the need for mental health treatments for kids has only increased.

In the last couple years, the Columbia Gorge Educational Services District (ESD) has surveyed students, parents, school staff, and medical professionals around the needs for student physical and mental health supports. The data overwhelmingly points to the strong desire from all of these stakeholders for more health services for the youth in our communities. Students mentioned that their top 3 health concerns were: mental health, substance abuse issues, and primary care services. Their top 3 barriers to care were: cost, transportation, and services being too far away. Many students go absent or chronically absent from school due to medical needs and the logistics of scheduling appointments. Having a school-based health center with licensed practitioners on school campus could be a game changer for student health and engagement.

With the help of grants, the ESD is working with school districts in Wasco and Hood River County to figure out how to provide more school-based health services. The short-term strategy is to hire a nursing manager who will coordinate all of the school nurses, connect with outside care providers, and schedule telehealth services for student mental health needs as requested.

The medium-term strategy is for One Community Health to purchase a mobile health clinic that will visit individual schools in Wasco and Hood River Counties on a regular basis to offer physical and mental health services with licensed clinicians. The long-term strategy is to build an on-site school-based health center at probably The Dalles High School (or other appropriate campus in North Wasco) to offer appointments with licensed clinicians for similar services.

Both Hood River Valley High School and now White Salmon Valley School District have a health center on campus, and the early results are incredibly positive. School-based health centers must follow the same state laws that other medical providers follow and have strict standards of certification.

Major donation already received.

With an incredible donation of $200,000 from long-time Mosier resident and ESD board member Susan Gabay, in honor of her deceased husband and daughter Susanna, North Wasco County School District 21 is well on its way towards the long-term goal of a health center at The Dalles High School. While it will take between $1-2 million dollars to build and equip that space, the $200K donation will be a catalyst for applying for public and private grants that require a matching contribution. Additional funds are being solicited from the community, businesses, and other interested parties by the North Wasco County Education Foundation, who is holding the $200K Gabay donation in an earmarked fund until which time the center is ready to be built. According to ESD Superintendent Pat Sublette, she expects the planning will take another 2-3 years, but there is strong momentum towards the goal.

To help build the fund for a school-based health center in the North Wasco County School District, please go to this website- www.northwascoed.org.

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For more information, please contact Rebecca Thistlethwaite, Administrative Director, North Wasco County Education Foundation. Email: rebeccathistlethwaite@gmail.com or call 541-806-1526.