Presenters
- Amelia McClelland, M.Ed., Behavioral Health Consultant, Community Health of Central Washington, Yakima, WA
- Laurel Gorham, DNP, Medical Provider- Davis Health Clinic, Community Health of Central Washington, Yakima, WA
Summary
In October, 2019, Community Health of Central Washington (CHCW) embarked on a health care journey to improve access to medical and behavioral health care to the students at Davis high school in Yakima, Washington. Yakima is a rural, medically underserved, low-income county with 85% of the 2,615 students at Davis high on Apple Health Care. The clinic was opened knowing that we needed to address the disparity of medical and behavioral health care to this adolescent community. The Davis Health Clinic is a fully functioning medical clinic located inside Davis high school that also offers integrated behavior health care to work with patients with multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) and social determinants of health (SDoH). We have had many successes and struggles and are continuing to creatively work through and around obstacles, such as lack of transportation for students, maintaining confidentiality, and outreach. While our model of care is proving successful within the school setting, we continue to search for ways to expand with limited to no external funding. In this presentation, we will discuss where we came from, and where we are now in an integrated health clinic in a rural, central Washington town.
Objectives
- Understand the utility of PCBH in a school-based health center
- Understand budget challenges that may arise in developing a school-based health clinic in an area without a tax levy
- Understand the growth of a new program and overcoming obstacles.
