GRAND LEDGE, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is making big changes in 26 mid-Michigan schools with funding for health centers, and one of the schools is Grand Ledge High School.
The high school partnered with Eaton RESA to support the new center.
"We saw an opportunity to partner with Grand Ledge schools, where our department could write the grant, be the support behind the scenes but where they would in the end receive all the health services for the students," said Kim Thalison, Eaton RESA director of school wellness.
With this effort, officials hope those services are much easier to access and reduce barriers to care. MDHHS says one of their main focuses is teenagers as they don't go to the doctors as often as younger kids.
"This is so they don't have to, they don't have to leave school, their parents don't have to take time off to pick them up and take them to a doctor's appointment," said Taggert Doll, MDHHS unit manager.
These health centers will focus on medical and mental care.
"We'll be forming a community advisory committee that will get lots of input from the community, from the students, from the parents and from the people that work at the school to make sure that we're providing the services that are most needed for the students, so we're really excited that this opportunity came up," Thalison said.
The participating schools are in the beginning stages of bringing these health centers to their buildings, but the goal is for centers to be up and running by fall.
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