At the clinic tucked just inside the front door of Tates Creek High School, students find medical, dental, and mental health providers eager to guide them on the lifelong path to wellness. One goal of nurse practitioner Jennifer Angermeier is to educate each student on the importance of annual checkups, which can help lower rates of diabetes, hypertension, and other ailments. “This is what you need to do as part of your health maintenance,” she tells them.
The new clinic looks very much like a traditional doctor’s office, with a waiting room and triage area, four exam rooms, and an on-site lab. It is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on school days, accepting appointments and walk-ins if a TCHS student. HealthFirst Bluegrass, which operates our school-based clinics, simply needs the child’s paperwork and a parent/guardian consent form on file.
The TCHS facility, which is the latest of 10 Healthy Kids Clinics in Fayette County Public Schools, opened this fall in conjunction with the new high school building. It is the biggest of our school clinics and has the largest staff with seven; most others have three people on site. All the clinics have a bilingual receptionist to assist Spanish-speaking clients. One new position that is currently only at the TCHS location is clinical health worker (CHW). This staffer works with students and families on food and clothing insecurity, acclimation to the United States if arriving from another country, and assistance with basics like home utilities. The CHW also works closely with the school’s Youth Services Center coordinator and its social worker to meet all the student’s needs.
Meanwhile, the clinic's behavioral health therapists treat a variety of issues including depression, anxiety, other mood disorders, trauma, behavioral disorders, ADHD, and adjustment to difficult situations. They coordinate with Angermeier and psychiatric providers for medication management and work alongside TCHS support teams on Special Education services. "Being here at school where so much of functioning is affected by these different mental health concerns allows us to intervene in the moment and provide the additional support students need," said Audrea Berrones, the clinics' mental health lead.
The convenience of a school-based clinic is one of the main advantages. For instance, parents do not need to come pick up a sick child if the clinic staff can provide treatment and send them back to class. Families can also easily line up their students’ routine medical care, such as required immunizations, seasonal flu shots, COVID-19 boosters, prescriptions, and sports physicals. Meanwhile, the dental team handles cleanings at TCHS on Fridays and a mobile unit comes by periodically to provide fillings and other care.
“We are excited to be able to offer these much-needed services to our community,” said Angermeier, who oversees all of our school-based clinics.
Did you know? Any FCPS student can use services at any clinic, along with their family members.
TCHS Clinic Staff:
- Jennifer Angermeier, nurse practitioner and specialty clinic lead
- Megan Bacon, school nurse
- Ibeth Diaz, medical assistant
- Donna Torres, clerk/receptionist
- Audrea Berrones, behavioral health therapist and mental health lead for school-based services
- Nicole Jablonki, behavioral health therapist
- Alyssa Derrick, clinical health worker
Need an appointment?
Call (859) 721-3000.
Posted Nov. 1, 2022
