From The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON – Recently, Meridian Health Services expanded its partnership with Anderson Community Schools to offer medical care to students.
Previously, Meridian offered limited behavioral health services for students. Providers have been able to help students that are struggling with things like aggression and other behavioral needs. Meridian also has licensed therapists on staff to help students. This initial partnership has been intact for about five years.
With the expansion, Meridian will be able to offer students long or short-term medical care. The expansion also allows Meridian to offer more behavioral health services for students. The school clinic is located at the COMPASS school at 2010 Brentwood Dr.
“We’re just really trying to make it accessible right there in the school,” said Lisa Suttle, regional vice president of clinical services for Meridian.
Students are able to visit the clinic for a variety of needs, including physicals, immunizations, illness visits and prescriptions.
According to Kelly Durr, chief operations officer at ACS, the district has been looking for ways to support students.
“It’s another service that can be provided to help our families,” Durr said.
Durr said that ACS is thankful for Meridian and its partnership with ACS.
“We (ACS) feel like once this takes off and people are aware of it, that it will just be another option to help them (students) get the services they need for medical and behavioral health,” Durr said.
According to Suttle, Meridian is looking to expand its partnership with ACS further in the future. She noted that they would like to get Meridian providers in more ACS schools to make health care more accessible for students. Suttle also mentioned that they are interested in adding dental services at the school clinic.
The clinic is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday .
“As we expand, we’ll look at different hours of convenience for people to be able to bring their kids,” Suttle said.
The school clinic operates on a sliding scale in terms of pay. The amount that patients pay is determined by household income. This is to ensure that patients can be seen regardless of their financial status. Medicaid and most insurance plans are accepted.
The clinic is open to members of the Anderson community, as it is a federally qualified healthcare center.
The school clinic can be reached at 765-393-0063. Appointments have the option of being held in-person or virtually.
