Originally Published by Up North Live

A northern Michigan school district will be able to renovate their health center thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

The HRSA funded the Health Department of Northwest Michigan nearly $98,000 for renovations to Boyne City Public Schools’ Boyne City Rambler Wellness School-Based Health Center.

The $97,700 grant will be used to improve existing school-based health center facilities through creating a dedicated health center space that supports integrated service delivery, increasing capacity for mental health services, substance abuse screening and obesity related services.

“This grant is an exciting opportunity to increase access to care for students in Boyne City Middle and Elementary Schools. School-based health centers play a critical role in preventing, screening, and treating some of the most common behavioral health issues known to affect student performance, overall health, and personal safety, including depression, anxiety, social conflict, adverse childhood experiences and attention disorders,” said Natalie Kasiborski, Director of Community Health Services at the Health Department of Northwest Michigan.

Right now, mental health services are provided in a different part of the school building than the physical health services.

The larger, newly designed space will also support the school health center’s effectiveness and efficiency by improving clinic flow and increasing the number of students seen monthly for primary care and mental health.

“Having access to school-based health services improves student well-being and their ability and readiness to learn. Our new space will create a designated health center where students can access physical and behavioral health services at a central location,” said Pat Little, superintendent of Boyne City Public Schools.

The health center at Boyne City Public Schools currently serves children and adolescents from Kindergarten through 8th Grade.

Their goal is to support student success by achieving the best possible physical, intellectual and emotional health status by providing services that are high quality, accessible and acceptable to youth.

The following organizations were awarded School-Based Health Center Capital (SBHCC) Program Grant Awards:

  • Baldwin Family Health Care (Baldwin)- $100,000
  • Cherry Street Services, Inc. (Grand Rapids)- $100,000
  • Henry Ford Health System (Detroit)- $100,000
  • North West Michigan Community Health Agency (Charlevoix)- $97,870
  • Oakland Integrated Healthcare Network (Pontiac)- $100,000
  • St. John Community Health Inv. (Warren)- $98,991
  • William Beaumont Hospital (Royal Oak)- $100,000