Fresno Unified could add community health centers to 10 schools

Fresno Unified School District hopes to create at least 10 school-based health centers, which would be built in areas of the city that have the least access to health care.

The public clinics would be modeled on Gaston Middle School’s Health and Wellness Center, which opened last year. The center provides primary care services such as physicals, immunizations and behavioral health services, and is open five days a week.

The district has identified 10 schools for the health centers: Addams Elementary, Bakman Elementary, Cambridge Continuation High School, Centennial Elementary, Kings Canyon Middle, Leavenworth Elementary, McLane High School, Sequoia Middle, Sunnyside High and Tehipite Middle.

Fresno Unified school board members Brooke Ashjian and Carol Mills expressed concern Friday about how the health centers would be paid for, saying the board was not fully informed of the plans. The trustees are campaigning against Measure X, Fresno Unified’s bond measure on Tuesday’s ballot, pointing to the district’s history of financial problems and of a lack of transparency.

But Fresno Unified spokesman Miguel Arias said Friday the health care centers have nothing to do with Measure X, and will be paid for by health care providers and federal funding.

“There’s no money tied to it. Most of the money that comes for construction actually comes from the feds, not the school districts,” Arias said. “We don’t operate them, the health provider does.”

The district is recommending the board soon approve six of the sites.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Fresno Unified could add community health centers to 10 schools."