Konza Prairie Community Health and Dental Center partnered with USD 475 in 2018 to open the current school-based clinic housed in Junction City High School.

Students have been able to receive care for minor illnesses, injuries, infections, earaches, and sore throats since last August. Konza has now announced that they have a provider on site to offer a wider variety of services including sports physicals, wellness exams and general health assessments. The clinic will now collect labs, provide immunizations and continue to provide health education for USD 475 students and staff. The provider will be on-site Tuesday mornings and Fridays.

Konza CEO Lee Wolf said a school-based health center involves about all the services that are provided at Konza’s facility on Grant Avenue. “Except it is a full clinic in the school. In the current school we will have a nurse practitioner and a nurse, we’ve hired some behavioral health providers recently and we’ll also rotate them in the high school. ” There is also a dental outreach program.

Students have the option of scheduling an appointment in the school clinic before school, during their lunch break or after school and if time permits, they can be seen during those times. If a student is feeling ill or has an acute complaint during the school day, they may go to the school nurse who will then write them a pass to the Konza school clinic if a parent permission slip is on file.

School-based health centers improve health equity by increasing access to care. A comprehensive school-based health center gives students access to medical, dental and behavioral health care in a safe and convenient environment. Health care can be accessed within schools, parents do not have to take off work and students don’t have to travel to find care and miss school.