Helping in health care and prevention

MONTROSE  —  The doors haven’t been open one month, but the school-based health center at Northside Elementary is proving to be an asset to the community, according to center employees.

“We’ve had very positive input, not only health care, but also in mental health — they’re very much needed services,” said Barbara Budagher, full-time physician assistant at the center.

The center provides child wellness exams, chronic care management for children with asthma and allergies, prescriptions and acute care, along with health education and referrals to community providers and agencies for families.

The services are provided to area children ages 3 to 12. They don’t have to be enrolled in the Montrose County School District Re-1J, but can be homeschool students or children in other situations.

The center also has a full-time mental health therapist, Emily Bowman, who provides individual and family mental health services.

Bowman said she’s seen about 15 individuals and families since the center opened Oct. 9.

“I’m working with kids but also the parents and families,” she said. “It’s a place for them to come and talk — stuff they can’t talk to anyone else about.”

Bowman has her own office where she can meet with clients and schedules her hours around those meetings. She is also available during the center’s regular hours.

Coming from Grand Junction just for the job, Bowman said she liked the idea of being able to provide services accessible from school.

“It takes the stigma away from going into the mental health center,” she said. “As part of the school, we look at it as something to promote a child’s wellness, and incorporating mental health to that — I like that idea of accessibility.”

The center is set up in a medical modular on the southwest corner of Northside’s campus.

The center also employs full-time family outreach/data processor Patty Edstrom, who assists families with enrollment for Colorado health insurance plans such as Medicaid and CHP+.

Edstrom said the center is in the process of becoming an enrollment center, but currently sends the applications through Montrose County Health and Human Services.

“The center has been great. I’ve started to talk to people and tell them their options— what they need. Some don’t know how to start and this is a good place for them to come,” Edstrom said.

There are also two part-time health technicians, Michelle Pace and Pennie Cordova. Pace, a health tech at Johnson Elementary School, said Cordova will become full time when her position as a health tech at Oak Grove Elementary is filled. Cordova will also be the center’s receptionist.

Since Oct. 11, Budagher has seen 24 patients, 10 for wellness exams, and the others for sicknesses such as strep throat and ear infections.

Budagher said the clinic’s goal is not to be primary caregivers. Its goal is to assist in helping families find a family doctor, apply for insurance programs and provide acute care and prevention.

Located behind the Northside campus at 528 N. Uncompahgre Ave., the center’s doors are open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from  8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Annual enrollment fee is $5 per child or $10 per family. The center uses a sliding-fee scale based on income and family size.

The center is funded through grants and in-kind donations.

Contact Kati O’Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com