New Castle County is partnering with school districts and Delaware School-Based Health Alliance to bring wellness centers to elementary and middle schools in underserved communities.
This investment, announced last week by County Executive Matt Meyer at Brookside Elementary School, will help support families and communities with limited resources and address trauma suffered by students before and during the pandemic.
The program is a partnership between school districts, county government and the Delaware School-Based Health Alliance, among others. The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Social Services be offering support and guidance.
The four schools currently funded for this program include Louis L. Redding Middle School (also serving Silver Lake Elementary School), Brookside Elementary School, McCullough Middle School and Richardson Park Elementary School.
Each school serves a high percentage of children and families in need who have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The four wellness centers will be funded by America Rescue Plan grants. More state and federal funding is being sought to bring the centers to more Delaware schools.
One in six children lived in food-insecure households before the pandemic, over 25% of Delaware’s children have parents who lack secure employment and half of Delaware’s families struggled with expenses during the pandemic, according to the Delaware 2021 Kids Count report.
COVID-19 also delayed medical care in one-third of households with children, the report said.
“The wellness centers are intended to be available for minor illnesses you can treat quickly and get [students] back into the classroom,” said Marihelen Barrett, registered nurse and director of the Delaware School Based Health Alliance. “This is not intended to replace the primary care provider.”
Instead, wellness centers will work together with other school staff, like nurses and psychologists, and community physicians to create plans for managing the health of students or addressing any chronic health problems. Nemours and ChristianaCare are some of the community partners involved in this initiative.
Health needs that can be addressed through school wellness centers include:
- Mental health and substance use disorder treatments
- Nutrition counseling
- Health promotion education
- Insurance navigation
- Preventive care such as physicals, sports physicals, immunizations and screenings
- Social service navigation and linkage
- Referrals and connections to community primary care, specialty care, oral health care and behavioral health care
While the centers will not provide ongoing mental health services, they will offer initial consultations to help students seeking next steps.
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Although the program is still tentative, said Barrett, the county hopes to have a contract for the wellness centers in early January followed by a soft launch of service in mid-spring. Full-service wellness centers are anticipated for the 2023-2024 school year, with funding through the 2024-2025 school year.
“We wanted to get started because there’s so many students in need with trauma from the pandemic,” said Barrett. “And one of the goals is to teach children health literacy so they know how to manage their own health and how to understand their health.”
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