News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Deschutes County Health Services (DCHS) is opening a School Based Health Center (SBHC) in Sisters.
The service, located in a modular across the street from Sisters High School, behind the football stands, is operated by DCHS. No school funds are used to support the center.
The center provides health services such as physicals, sick care and immunizations to all children under 21 years old residing in the Sisters School District, regardless of ability to pay.
The facility will be staffed three days a week: Monday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. by a nurse practitioner; Wednesday from 2 to 6 p.m. by a registered nurse.
A consent and registration form was sent out to parents this week.
In the letter, school nurses Trish Roy, RN; Debbie Willitts, RN; and clinic supervisor Elaine Severson, RN, noted that the "SBHC will not take the place of a primary care practitioner - if you already have a physician/clinic for your student they should be contacted if your student needs to receive health services."
"I think it's just a rich add-on to the community," Willitts told The Nugget.
The letter emphasized that the center will not provide reproductive services and that "students will not be allowed to sign out from school to visit the center without parent permission."
The center can also be integrated into the schools' health curriculum, offering opportunities for classroom projects and activities, including field trips with age-appropriate themes for the three Sisters schools.
Willitts said the clinic will promote a healthy community and provide resources to address issues such as obesity. No specific plans for curriculum integration are in the works, Willitts said, "just because it's so fresh. They're just opening the doors and seeing how it's going to fit into the Sisters community."
For more information contact Trish Roy, RN, middle/high school nurse, 541-549-2099/541-549-4045; Debbie Willitts, RN, elementary/middle school nurse, 541-549-8981/541-549-2099. Contact clinic supervisor Elaine Severson, RN, at 541-604-4154 or 541-322-7400.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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