PACS School Based Health Centers Provide On-Site Primary Care for Enrolled Students
Pulaski Academy & Central Schools is celebrating a nearly 20-year partnership with ConnextCare to offer convenient, on-site, school-based primary care services for enrolled children with no out-of-pocket cost for most services.
Since 2002, students enrolled in the School Based Health Center (SBHC) locations at Lura M. Sharp Elementary and Pulaski Middle-High School have received convenient, primary care visits, allergy injections, immunizations and more – all without having to leave their school building.
“It’s is the hidden gem of the schools,” said Tricia A. Peter-Clark, MBA, FACHE, ConnextCare’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Unless you grew up in the community, people may not fully understand what a SBHC offers for your child."
Peter-Clark says enrolled SBHC students are often referred through the school nurses’ offices, especially if a child may need a prescription or if an illness or injury appears serious.
“If a child comes in and says, ‘I’m not feeling well,’ we would place a phone call to the parent or guardian and permission to see them for a visit,” she said. “It is 100-percent convenient for the parent because they don’t have to leave work, drive and pick their child up, or try to get into their own pediatrician or urgent care where there could be extended wait times.”
Children’s prescriptions can be ordered for parents and guardians to pick up at their pharmacy on file and the SBHC also offers on-site COVID-19 testing with specimens sent out for laboratory analysis.
Parents and guardians are not responsible for copays, deductibles, or balances of visits as the office bills most insurances and accepts as payment what those companies pay.
For more information on the SBHC, or to enroll your child or children, visit https://www.connextcare.org/SchoolBased.