Dayton in-school health clinic delayed until early 2020

Officials from Dayton Public Schools, the Five Rivers Health Centers and the city of Dayton announced plans for an in-school health clinic last spring. JEREMY P. KELLEY / STAFF

Officials from Dayton Public Schools, the Five Rivers Health Centers and the city of Dayton announced plans for an in-school health clinic last spring. JEREMY P. KELLEY / STAFF

The clinic that Five Rivers Health Centers hoped to open this fall at Roosevelt Elementary is now on track for a January or February start date, according to Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli.

The school board will vote next week on both a memorandum of understanding and a lease agreement with Five Rivers, paving the way for the project to begin. The health center would be available to serve students in all Dayton Public Schools, then serve the general public after school hours.

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“We started out with a target of late August or early September, then we had to iron out some of the MOU language — what the service hours are, who’s going to be where, how do we transport kids to and from the clinic?” Lolli said. “Those kind of logistical issues.”

Five Rivers officials said in April that the center would feature three medical exam rooms staffed at least by a nurse practitioner, plus dental and vision services, as well as behavioral health services.

As a federally qualified health center, Five Rivers has grant funds to serve uninsured patients, and the group has been hoping to expand into schools. Their Trotwood school-based health center is slated to open in mid-November.

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Dayton Public Schools officials hope lessening widespread asthma and other health problems common in their students could lead to progress on absenteeism and academic troubles.

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