LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Eaton Regional Education Service Agency and Grand Ledge Public Schools have announced their new, school-based health center in Grand Ledge High School, opening early next year.
The state of Michigan recently announced 26 recipient schools that will each receive part of $2.4 million in funding from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to expand child and adolescent health centers, and Grand Ledge High School is among them.
“The fact that we [will] bring it to Grand Ledge High School and provide the services for our kids has been met with a lot of excitement in our community,” said Bill Barnes, Superintendent of Grand Ledge Public Schools.
Officials said the health center will be open year-round, making it easier for children and young adults in Eaton county to access health care. The center will provide primary care, preventative care, comprehensive health assessment, vision and hearing screening, health education and mental health care.
Officials are emphasizing that all children and young adults in Eaton County will be accepted. “This is a great opportunity to bring the service directly to students that kind of cuts out the need for parents to take their kids to the doctors when they can schedule that appointment right in their high school,” said Sean Williams, Superintendent of Eaton RESA.
Barnes said that although the new health center is in Grand Ledge High School, any child in the the community who needs these services will be the center’s priority.
The center is currently seeking license mental health clinicians for the new health center. “There’s a lot of students that are dealing with depression, they’re having behavioral issues because they haven’t been socialized and working in groups and working with others, and so having that service right on campus is going to be amazing here in Grand Ledge,” Williams said.
The plan is for the health center to be fully open in the spring of 2024, though some services at the site will be available as early as January.
The funding for the planning grants is part of a $25 million investment last year to expand Child and Adolescent Health Centers to more sites across Michigan, according to MDHHS.
