School, Thunder Bay join for onsite health center

The Cheboygan Area Schools Board of Education passed a resolution to enter into an agreement with Thunder Bay Community Health Service, Inc., TBCHS, for the collaboration and support of an onsite school-based health center at its regular meeting Monday.

Cheboygan Area Schools will provide the space for the center at the Cheboygan Intermediate School, along with custodial services, heat, utilities and garbage disposal said Superintendent Mark Dombroski,  with no other expense to the school district.

The center will provide community health service for all students that attend Cheboygan Area Schools, encompassing 260 square miles.

“That's public schools and private schools.  All those students will be able to attend.  It may be difficult for parents of those outlying schools to get them there, but it is there,” said Dombroski.

The clinic will provide the same services as most health clinics, including immunizations and well- being checkups, but will not provide birth control or contraceptives, according to Dombroski.

The center will employ four full-time employees and a full-time social worker, who will start in approximately three weeks.  

The remodeling for the center will begin in late spring, and will be ready for the next school year.  TBCHS will do the hiring for the center, but Dombroski said the schools will be a part of the hiring process.

The agreement with TBCHS is for five years, with the option to continue the agreement in five-year increments afterward.

“If for some reason Cheboygan Area Schools say goodbye to Thunder Bay without cause, there will be an obligation for Cheboygan Area Schools within that first five years to help pay for the remodeling costs.  

After five years, it will be Cheboygan Area Schools free and clear,” said Dombroski.

TBCHS has been providing comprehensive health care services since 1982, beginning with a clinic in Hillman.  

The company operates five year-round health centers, providing services to more than 14,000 patients a year, and has operated a school-based clinic in Onaway Community Schools for five years.

In other action, the board passed a resolution proclaiming April Social Host Awareness Month, calling on all parents, citizens, homeowners and property owners to host gatherings responsibly and to take measures to eliminate access of alcohol to persons under the age of 21.

The board also honored the Cheboygan Area High School students of the month for January, with Elizabeth Huddleston, Leslie Stamfly, Amy Wallace and Ken Brunger taking home the awards.  Overnight field trips for the robotics team and the Key Club at the high school were also approved.