THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602110057
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GATESVILLE LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
Gates County High School Principal Tommy Lawrence shows the way into a small tan building where four ballcap-clad students sit waiting for two health officials to see them.
School had been closed for nearly a week because of bad weather, so cases of colds and athletic physicals had piled up at the Adolescent Care Center, a mobile unit parked behind the red-brick school on U.S. Route 158.
``We're busy, as you can see,'' says Betsy Brown, health education coordinator and student services director for Gates County Schools.
The ACC, as the center is known in this rural county, has been busy since it opened in the fall of 1994. About 700 students between 10 and 19 years old have received medical services at least once since then. Up to 300 students visit the center monthly.
Lawrence and center staff say the on-site medical center has improved attendance at the high school and provided free care to a number of students who might not have been treated otherwise.
And the Gates County folks who received a five-year state grant to run the center aren't the only ones impressed by what has been accomplished. Earlier this month, Superintendent Cleveland M. Hawkins accepted a plaque in Raleigh naming the center one of nine winners of the Governor's Program of Excellence in Education Award for 1995.
The award annually recognizes school programs ranging from literacy efforts to the Gates health-care initiative that exhibit ``creativity, hard work, collaboration and a commitment to excellence,'' according to a statement describing the award.
For the Gates County Schools, the award provides a chance to keep the Adolescent Care Center growing.
``It's a good way to get the information out about the ACC,'' Brown says. ``Adolescents are the one population that doesn't get a lot of health care. And they're the ones who have the most risk, mostly because of behavior.''
Gates is one of 13 counties in the state with school-based health centers and one of only a couple in the Albemarle area, officials said. The Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Schools also have health centers at Northeastern High School and the Elizabeth City Middle School.
Gates County's service is operating basically as a branch of the Gates County Medical Center on $65,000 a year from the state Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources.
The Gatesville center provides primary services such as treatment for illnesses, sports physicals, counseling, dental screening, pregnancy testing and diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. The staff also makes referrals to specialists and family planning centers.
Students are treated regardless of ability to pay, although insurance companies and Medicaid reimburse the center for students who are covered.
The center's location on school grounds eliminates the three hurdles that officials say often keep adolescents from getting health care: convenience, cost and confidentiality.
``If we weren't here, they probably wouldn't go anywhere,'' says Christine Fogarty, the Gates County Medical Center physician assistant who spends Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the high school. ``Especially if it's a confidential situation, they can't leave school and go to the medical center or the health department. It's a lot harder for them.
``Being here and being available and being open and being friendly and making them feel comfortable makes a big difference.''
It also saves working parents the problem of taking time off to get their children to the doctor. And, Lawrence says, it keeps students in school who otherwise would miss a day of classes.
``They can be seen fairly quickly,'' Brown said. ``They can get medication that day.''
Students cannot be treated at the center unless parents sign a slip authorizing visits, Brown says. Parents can forbid the center from seeing their children, but Brown says no one has done that.
Aside from routine illnesses, Fogarty says she handles a lot of sports injuries and regularly treats students who suffer from seizure disorders. On occasion, she helps students who are hurt by other students.
``I've done some stitching,'' Fogarty says. ``I've had some students who got in a fight on a bus, and stitched a boy's scalp back on.''
The Adolescent Care Center also aims, within limits, to reach out to students on sensitive issues such as sexual activity and substance abuse. Fogarty says she is ``pretty liberal'' about administering pregnancy tests to any student who is concerned.
But the center does not give out birth-control devices. Exams and prescriptions for contraceptives are handled only if requested by a parent, officials say.
The center, with two exam rooms, some lab space and administrative offices, is overseen daily by licensed practical nurse Gloria Ballard. Fogarty splits her time between the high school center and the Gates County medical facility. The county as a whole is underserved medically, officials say.
``It's hard to get the medical professionals in this area,'' Brown says, noting that the county has only one full-time doctor. ``This is a great way to get them, because it's an exciting new program.''
Brown says officials are working to ensure the center continues after the state grant runs out in three years. The school system is seeking other grants and soliciting community support.
``Right now, people see us as offering a service that is a needed service,'' Brown says. ``I think the kids would really miss it if it weren't here.'' by CNB