School-based clinics available in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - Students in the Cedar Rapids Community School District have a quick, nearby place to visit if they need basic medical services during the school year.

Metro Care Connection clinics, which operate at Jefferson and Metro high schools and Taylor Elementary, are staffed with pediatric nurse practitioners, who have training beyond that of the typical school nurse.

'They provide health care to students who have barriers to getting services,” said Kim Rimmer, a program specialist with the district. 'There are still kiddos out there who get caught in the cracks, or move into the district, and it takes time for medical records to transfer.”

The clinics are not meant to provide primary care, according to Susan Rumelhart, who has worked at Jefferson High School's clinic for the past 15 years.

'We hope we are a gateway to get them into some medical home,” she said. 'We provide an advanced practice role in a school setting.”

The Metro Care Connection program began at Metro High School in the late 1990s, before expanding to Jefferson and Taylor in the early 2000s, Rimmer said. The nurse practitioners are able to provide services such as immunizations, physicals and quick strep tests. The district also works with the Area Substance Abuse Council (ASAC) to provide substance abuse treatment.

Parental consent is all that is needed for students to make an appointment at the clinics. Students who attend schools other than Metro, Jefferson and Taylor can make arrangements to be transported to one of the clinics, or be seen at their own school by one of the nurse practitioners. Rumelhart said there is a high rate of walk-ins at her clinic; as long as a consent form is on file, a student can be seen.

Rimmel said the Iowa City and Cedar Falls school districts have similar programs. However, the Cedar Rapids nurse practitioners are employed by the school district.

'We're able to bill Medicaid through education billing, and we find donations and grants” to fund the program, Rimmer said. Although the clinics only operate during the school year, Rimmer said she gets calls all year asking for assistance. She said she works with the free health clinics in town as well as the public health department to help guide students to services when school isn't in session.

There are no plans to open additional clinics at this time, Rimmel said, but they are 'trying to keep their eyes open.”

'If funding came along and staffing was available, we might look into moving one into another school,” Rimmer said. 'It's been pretty steady. The clinics are not always 100 percent full.”

Rimmer said about 1,200 to 1,300 students use the clinics each year, but many people aren't aware they exist.

'I hear a lot about ‘we didn't know about it,' and ‘there's so much going on in the district,' that unless it catches attention, they don't know about it,” Rimmer said.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information about Metro Care Connection, as well as information on how to make an appointment, go to http://mcc.cr.k12.ia.us/