Southcentral Foundation, Iditarod Area School District Join to Improve Health Care Services for Children in Rural Alaska
By Southcentral Foundation HRSA Coordinator Laura Kotelman and SCF HRSA Coordinator Callie Bray
Fifty-four children and adolescents in Takotna, McGrath, and Nikolai will benefit from the grant for school-based expansion.
Southcentral Foundation and the Iditarod Area School District are excited to announce a collaborative effort and SCF’s receipt of the Health Resources and Services Administration Grant for School-Based Services Expansion. The grant, awarded to SCF for the first time, opens the door to crucial improvements to health care accessibility for children living in rural Alaska.
The primary objective of the grant is to establish new access points for high-quality primary health care services, including behavioral health services, at three IASD schools: McGrath School, Takotna Community School, and Top of the Kuskokwim School in Nikolai. The schools serve a total of 54 children in communities where SCF operates community health centers.
IASD acknowledges the significance of this initiative, as none of the schools currently have school nurses or counselors. They rely entirely on SCF’s community health centers for essential health care services. The establishment of these school-based service sites is expected to provide convenient access to vital health care, promote mental health well-being, and offer preventive care to children and adolescents in McGrath, Takotna, and Nikolai.
One of the key outcomes of this collaboration will be expanded behavioral health services, which is anticipated to improve health outcomes, including a reduction in depressive episodes and suicide risk among adolescents. By providing health care services within the school setting, SCF aims to eliminate the stigma often associated with clinic visits and contribute positively to physical and mental health, and academic performance.
Under this grant, SCF will deploy a registered nurse and a behavioral health consultant to each of the three schools on a part-time basis, with telehealth follow-up services. A registered nurse will be based in McGrath and will travel quarterly to Nikolai’s Top of the Kuskokwim School and Takotna Community School. SCF’s behavioral health employees will also visit each school quarterly to provide vital school-based behavioral health counseling services, with telehealth follow-up.
IASD is committed to providing operational support by allocating office space for SCF to provide health care services at each of the schools and maintaining open lines of communication to ensure seamless operations. Together, IASD and SCF aim to enhance the health and well-being of the children served, ensuring they have access to the care they need for healthy futures.
For more information on the Grant for School-Based Services Expansion, please contact SCF Administrator Heather Goecke at HGoecke@southcentralfoundation.com.
