Hall Pass to Healthcare: In-School Clinic Opens at PD, Alpine Lakes

Submitted by Rachel Hansen

Cascade Medical and Cascade School District will launch a pilot program Feb. 12 that offers primary care for students while they’re at school.

Bilingual Nurse Practitioner Carrie Kingsley will be available on Wednesdays at Peshastin-Dryden Elementary and Alpine Lakes Elementary. She can help students with:           

        •      Physicals and health screenings

        •      Colds and coughs

        •      Flu

        •      Infections

        •      Earaches

        •      Bumps, bruises and sprains

        •      Pink eye

        •      Sore throats

        •      Allergies

        •      Anxiety/depression screening

Kingsley can see students with parental consent; the form will be available on the district’s website and at school offices. Ideally, a parent or guardian would be present for the in-school appointment, but if not, the student can also be accompanied by another family member or trusted adult with a note from the parent or guardian.

“It’s the same as a walk-in appointment at the Family Practice Clinic, but more convenient,” Kingsley said. “I’m excited about reaching out to those families who might not receive medical care otherwise.”

Kingsley’s in-school hours will be:

Late start Wednesdays:

9-11 a.m. at Peshastin-Dryden Elementary

12 p.m.-2 p.m. at Alpine Lakes Elementary

Wednesdays: 8-10 a.m. at Peshastin-Dryden Elementary.11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Alpine Elementary School

“We’ll grow as the needs grow,” said Clinic Director Whitney Lak. “Our goal is to have hours at all the schools by the end of the 2020-21 school year.”

The appointment will be billed to insurance as an office visit. For families who don’t have medical insurance, an insurance navigator at Cascade Medical can help find a plan that fits. Cascade Medical also offers financial assistance on a sliding scale based on income and family size.

Superintendent Tracey Beckendorf-Edou said she hopes the ease of on-site healthcare will help keep students in school, especially students with chronic medical conditions.

“We are excited about having the in-school clinics at Alpine Lakes and Peshastin-Dryden Elementary schools so that families have a convenient access point for healthcare for their children,” she said. “We hope that this will help students with chronic medical conditions have their medical needs more easily managed and we also hope that having such easy access to medical care will reduce absenteeism.”

Cascade Medical Center is a nonprofit, community-owned, critical access hospital that delivers extraordinary healthcare by taking more time with each patient and their families. Centered around primary care, the medical center also provides lab and screening services; physical, occupational and speech therapy; ambulance service; emergency and acute care, and inpatient rehabilitation.