Everett High School celebrates new free, on-site clinic

EVERETT — On Thursday, elected officials and school staff celebrated the opening of a new free health center available for students at Everett High School.

The health center will provide primary, dental and behavioral health care at no cost to students.

Everett High School’s new clinic was one of two — the second was at Cascade High School — that had quietly opened earlier in the school year.

The Community Health Center of Snohomish County will operate the two clinics. The nonprofit received just under $250,000 in grant funds to renovate existing rooms at the high schools to build the new facilities. Ongoing operations are paid for by grant funds, insurance reimbursements and other resources, according to the nonprofit.

There is no cost to the school apart from utility usage. Students will also not pay any out-of-pocket costs for the health care. The center will bill insurance for eligible services, if available, but families will not receive a bill for costs not covered by insurance, the nonprofit wrote.

Just over 60% of students at both Cascade High School and Everett High School come from low-income families, state data shows.

Everett High School principal Kelly Shepherd said 20 students who, without the clinic, wouldn’t have been able to attend school due to needing vital medication as part of a health care plan, were able to start the school year. Others who had otherwise not been able to get sports physicals were able to access them through the new clinic.

“This is what belonging means, this is what community looks like,” Shepherd said at the celebration Thursday. “When we remove barriers, prioritize wellness and ensure every student is healthy, supported and ready to learn, we build better citizens in our community.”

The new clinic came together quickly. First conversations between Community Health Center and Everett Public Schools over building the facility started less than two years ago, according to district staff. In June, Everett High School’s clinic was still being used as a science classroom. Cascade High School’s clinic was built out of unused gymnasium bathrooms, according to Community Health Center.

“We had always been looking at the community where we thought there might not only be need, but a really strong partnership,” said Zoe Reese, the business development director at the nonprofit.

The clinic is open to all students. Within three years, Community Health Center hopes to serve about half the student population at the clinic, Reese said.

Parents must register students to access the on-site services. The clinic follows existing state law outlining parent consent in medical procedures.

Community Health Centers of Snohomish County already operates school-based clinics at Mountlake Terrace High School and Meadowdale High School. The nonprofit expects to open two additional clinics soon at Lynnwood High School and Granite Falls High School.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.