Sixty percent of children who die by suicide never received mental health support.
More than 40% of Pennsylvania students report feeling depressed or anxious most of the time.
Those statistics, according to Nate Boateng, vice president of community impact and engagement of the nonprofit Valley Health Partners, show that “it’s time that we rethink how we appropriately resource our mental health services for kids.”
He and other advocates believe school-based health clinics are part of that solution.
Boateng, state Rep. Mike Schlossberg and others gathered to promote school-based health clinics during a news conference Friday at Hays Elementary School in Allentown. These clinics operate within schools and provide mental and physical health care to students.
That health care includes behavioral health services, immunizations, physical exams and nutritional guidance, according to Michelle Mieses, VHP program manager. She said that for costs, families are never turned away and pay on a sliding fee system that accommodates their income level, adding that appointments usually range from $5 to $10.
Hays and Sheridan elementary schools, in partnership with VHP, are the two schools in the Allentown School District to currently host these clinics; those clinics opened in 2022 and 2020, respectively.
Superintendent Carol Birks said her goal is to make the school district the first in the state to have these clinics at every school.
She said that of the 2,600 district students who took the most recent , 68% said they have experienced moderate depression. Roughly 34% of the students said they seriously considered suicide in the prior year, and 28% said they felt sad and hopeless almost every day for two weeks.
“With all the resources and all the advocacy and all the people listening who make the decisions, we need every single one of you to ensure that our students have the resources that they need, and support their families,” Birks said.
Hays Principal Naaman Schlegel said the clinic at his school has been successful since opening, particularly for how it allows students to only miss 20-30 minutes of school instead of up to a full day of school due to an offsite appointment.
Since June of this year, the Hays clinic has seen more than 1,100 patients, according to Schlegel, who called that an “incredible” number.
“Having the VHP partners here at Hays is an irreplaceable benefit for the students and families of Hays Elementary as well as the Allentown School District,” the principal said, adding that he intends for the clinic to eventually offer vision services.
Schlossberg, the co-chair of the state House Mental Health Caucus, said the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the mental health crisis, particularly affecting children, people of color and members of the LGBT+ community.
“Which means that those of us in government have to do a better job of managing and taking advantage of already-existing resources in order to get these students the treatment they deserve,” he said, adding that the government should work on funding mental health education and prevention alongside treatment for students who are already especially ill.
A piece of legislation he sponsored, House Bill 2311, would provide $10 million for funding pilot programs to screen students for mental health issues if approved.
Katie Noss, the manager of clinical and quality improvement at the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers, spoke about the need for improved behavioral health treatment for students.
“As a school nurse, I saw directly the increased behavioral health needs of children in our communities [that] often lacked places to refer students to,” she said. “Or if I refer them, they would suffer long waits. With the behavioral health needs of children increasing, now is the time to invest in school-based health clinics, especially those operated by community health centers that are well-positioned to fill this gap in care.”
The Hays clinic’s posted hours at the entrance are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday as well as Friday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday. The Sheridan clinic is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, according to .
The Allentown School District has also partnered with Hazel Health, which offers free online counseling services to all students. Families can sign up on .
