Baldwin High School to open Wellness Center for students

Baldwin School District officials announced a new partnership with Nassau University Medical Center and Long Island FQHC, resulting in a fully staffed physical and emotional Wellness Center at Baldwin High School. The facility is expected to open in the fall.

The new Wellness Center would provide high quality comprehensive primary medical care, mental and emotional health services, and supplemental health education services to enrolled students directly on the high school campus.

Funding for the Wellness Center has been made available by NUMC through a federal and statewide grant initiative known as the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment, a program that was implemented to provide support of health care transformation in New York State.

The grant will cover the cost of construction and all operational expenses, school officials said. The on-site facility would feature medical examination rooms as well as a private counseling space.

“Our students will be able to receive quality care by highly trained medical experts conveniently located in their high school at no cost to our district,” Schools Superintendent Dr. Shari Camhi said in a statement. “In addition, there will be educational opportunities for health seminars for our parents. We are pleased that we are able to move forward with such an established healthcare provider as Long Island FQHC and Nassau University Medical Center and are grateful that our Baldwin community is being afforded this opportunity.”

Designed to meet the psychosocial and physical needs of every student, the Wellness Center could serve as a student’s Primary Care Provider, “medical home,” or as a complement to services provided by an outside PCP.

The center would offer same day and scheduled appointments before, during and after the academic day, providing primary medical care services and specialty care services, including behavioral health, dental, optometric, podiatric and care management services.

In addition to the school nurse, Long Island FQHC would provide its own staff, including a full-time nurse practitioner who can perform immunizations and vaccinations, and a full-time social worker.

Starting in the 2020-2021 school year, the center would provide services year-round with hours to be determined based on student need. All students at the high school, in conjunction with their parents, would have to be registered.