In the nearly five years since the health clinic at Spectrum Community School opened in Kingston, it’s served as a safe haven for North End students to access services hard to come by for young people in this part of the county.

Not only are basic physical health needs met, but the clinic also offers immunizations, reproductive health education and services including birth control, AIDS testing and prevention, mental health counseling, routine health and sports physicals, and healthy snacks.

The school-based health clinic, staffed and partially funded by the Kitsap County Health District, is the only one of its kind in the county.

“Even from the beginning we’ve been busy,” said Candy Cardinal of the health district, who’s been with the clinic since it opened and helps coordinate it. “I see the need consistent. We’re busy on a daily basis and even busier now.”

Spectrum students can have a parent or guardian sign a consent form at the beginning of the school year that allows them to drop in at the clinic for services at any time. Students from other schools in the North Kitsap School District, including nearby Kingston High School and Kingston Middle School, can take advantage of the services provided after receiving a referral from a nurse, counselor or teacher at their own school.

“We’re a part of who they are in high school,” Cardinal said. “They trust us and know who we are. It’s hard for adolescents to access health care in that neck of the woods. Having the clinic at Spectrum increases their comfort level, especially with things that are sensitive.”

A safe place to

shoot the breeze

Students utilize the clinic services, Cardinal said, because they may not trust opening up to a family doctor, have a hard time accessing health services elsewhere or don’t have health insurance. All services at the clinic are provided free of charge though some prescriptions must be paid out-of-pocket or if needed, by a fund for low-income students through the school district.

The clinic costs just under $100,000 to run annually, Cardinal said. The health district provides about half of that and another funding chunk is provided by a grant from the Washington Department of Health’s Office of Maternal & Child Health. On Mondays, the NKSD nurse, Karen Sherwood, provides services. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Gretchen Berni, Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner with the health district, is at the clinic. Wednesdays adolescent mental health counselor Patricia Flower Growing from Kitsap Mental Health sees students and Fridays are dedicated to screening, prevention and education programs overseen by Cardinal.

Flower Growing, who’s contracted to work at the clinic one day per week by the health district, said “Definitely every year we have ‘frequent flyers,’” students who make regular visits to the clinic. She provides ongoing mental health services for students dealing with depression and other issues. With the junior highs switching over to middle schools this year, she’s seeing more ninth-graders dropping by.

“They know they can sit down and talk, that it’s no big deal to stop by and talk and shoot the breeze.”

Working in a school-based clinic is “kinda new for us,” Flower Growing said, “and the hope is to expand it to other locations.”

While the school-based clinic is the only one in Kitsap County, Bainbridge Island is working to establish a similar clinic. King County is the only other county in the state that provides health services directly to students. With Kingston High School next door, the number of students served may increase as word gets out about what’s offered. If that happens, the clinic doesn’t have much room to grow and may rethink how it provides services, Cardinal said.

Promoting health

inside and out

Berni pointed out that the Spectrum staff primarily provides more talking, facilitating and basic first aid for students, but the clinic does not serve as an urgent care center.

Students who are identified as having serious mental or physical health issues are referred to other services provided by Kitsap Mental Health, including its crisis team, or the Front Street Clinic in Poulsbo. Staff at the Spectrum clinic can help contact other clinics and set up appointments.

Being based at Spectrum allows the opportunity to effectively promote health by working with groups of students, advocating smoking cessation, oral health care, suicide prevention and safe-sex practices. Condoms and other birth control are readily available to students.

According to state law, minors can provide their own consent for alcohol, drug and mental health treatment beginning at age 13 and reproductive health at any age.

“It’s not unusual for kids to be sexually active at the junior high level,” Berni said. Often students, who are identified by a counselor or school nurse as being in a relationship where they may be taking risks, are referred to the clinic.

“The big emphasis is not just passing out birth control and condoms,” Berni said. “You’ve got their attention – you want to talk about safer behavior to them. It’s a really good time to educate and make them feel comfortable.”

Some students stop by regularly for a snack or piece of Trident gum, and “it gets them in the door and you can start creating a relationship with them,” she said. “It kinda comes with the territory. You get used to talking with kids and they will share a lot with you.”

For more information about the Spectrum Health Clinic, contact it through Spectrum Community School at (360) 394-2860 or the Kitsap County Health District at (360) 337-5224.