T-L Photo/JOSIE BURKHART Bellaire High School’s Belmont County Student Services’ first room will transform into a health clinic expected to be completed by May.

BELLAIRE — A new health clinic staffed with professionals is on its way to Bellaire High School and is scheduled to be finished by May.

Superintendent Derrick McAfee described this facility as a stand-alone clinic that will operate inside the high school and will be run by Barnesville-based Ohio Hills Health Centers. Medical professionals will be able to do regular visits, while the community and students use it as a primary care and urgent care option. Staff will be able to draw labs and take more medical action. It will be accessible to all students K-12 and members of the community.

The clinic will have three exam rooms, a lab, an office, a reception area and storage space. It will be staffed with a physician assistant, school health coordinator, medical assistant and medical receptionist.

Development of the clinic is a conversation the school has been having for years, but COVID-19 halted everything, according to McAfee. Now, the school has been able to communicate with Ohio Hills Health Centers, which has access to a $500,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Health. The school worked with OHHC to obtain the grant.

This health clinic does not replace the school nurse but rather provides an additional service to the school.

If a student doesn’t feel well during the day, they will still visit the school nurse. Students’ parents will also be notified every time one of them is seen through the clinic.

During his time as high school principal, McAfee said, he saw students have barriers to health care – sometimes as simple as not having a ride to a clinic or being able to afford a visit. The school found real structural barriers to the students receiving health care they need, so it’s looking to increase student attendance and remove health care barriers for students.

The clinic is moving to the room previously occupied by Belmont County Student Services, which operated out of the high school for the past 20 years but recently moved. That opened up a lot of space in the high school.

McAfee wanted to make sure there was a secure passageway into the clinic without clinic patients having access to the entire school, since it is being opened to the community. During construction, the company will rework part of the foyer for the clinic to have its own entryway. McAfee emphasized that safety is paramount in everything the school does.

The clinic is expected to see its first patients this month as staff operate out of a temporary space until the construction is completed, McAfee said.

McAfee said one thing the school district learned during COVID-19 is that schools are more than just a place to come sit down and learn. Instead, they are community focused. McAfee described the school as “the glue.”

He said schools are moving into spaces now that are beyond the traditional role, such as providing lunch and food services that students rely on.

“Us building those bridges to different services and, in this case, it is beyond our kids,” McAfee said. “By building that bridge with the community, by having this clinic here, it’s showing the community that we’re more than just a place for kids to come and learn. We are a place for the community to get involved, and we’re a place for the community to get services that they need as well.”

McAfee said the key to making the clinic a success is to publicize it and make sure people know it’s there.

“You hear about something inside of a school, a school program, and think it’s only for the kids. This is not only for the kids. It’s there because of the kids, but this is something that can benefit the entire community.”

McAfee described the clinic as a new opportunity, making it easier for students to stay in school. McAfee said the clinic also brings opportunities for students to shadow professionals in a clinical setting without leaving the high school. He anticipates it will provide educational opportunities, increase student and staff attendance and build bridges to the community.

“It’s an awesome opportunity …,” McAfee said. “I mean, it’s only good things. It can only do something great for the whole town. So (I’m) really excited.”