Health clinics coming to parish schools

Students at six Lincoln Parish public schools will have the option to receive free healthcare services on campus when school-based health clinics open there next fall.

The school board voted 7-5 Tuesday to ink an agreement with Trinity Community Health Centers of Louisiana to open in-school clinics, including full-time nurses and nurse practicioners, at Hillcrest Elementary, Ruston Elementary, Glen View Elementary, Cypress Springs Elementary, I.A. Lewis School and Ruston Junior High for three years beginning August of 2025.

Trinity, the Winnfieldbased company behind the Lincoln Community Health Center in Ruston, plans to provide these clinics at no charge to students or the school board. Instead, as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), it can bill Medicaid for most students’ care and waive out-of-pocket costs when billing private insurance.

Each clinic will offer sick visits, wellness exams, dentistry, immunizations and more during the school day to any student at those schools whose families opt in. School employees can use the clinics as well.

While the district already has school nurses, these clinics will provide a greater range of services and take the burden off the district, officials said.

“The reality is school systems are not really designed to be the mechanism to provide health services,” Director of Student Support Services Justin Barron said. “Oftentimes we have to refer those students out to a physician. We’ve got limitations on the services we can provide. We’re not a clinic — we’re school nurses.”

Trinity already provides school-based care in the Winn Parish and Rapides Parish school systems. They first approached Lincoln Parish about the program in 2023.

“We embed nurse practitioners, RNs, LPNs, as well as clerical people into the schools,” Trinity CEO Deano Thornton said.

Thornton founded Trinity after retiring as mayor of Winnfield. The company now provides stand-alone clinics, like the one in Ruston, across many parishes in the region.

“It’s like a miniature clinic at the school,” Thornton said. “We see those kids that mom or dad doesn’t want to take off of work to take them to the doctor for a problem — those kids who get hurt at school.”

Some members who voted against the agreement Tuesday said they liked the program but wanted to solicit proposals from other local providers before making a commitment.

“I was very open to allow others, give them the opportunity to come, tell us their plan, how are they going to make it happen,” board President Gregg Phillips said. “I don’t know if anybody would have shown up, but I was willing to give them the opportunity.”

Phillips was joined by Vice President Danielle Williams (District 1), David Ferguson (District 2), Lynda Henderson (District 9) and Otha Anders ( District 10) in voting against the agreement.

Clark Canterbury (District 3), Donna Doss (District 4), Danny Hancock ( District 5), Joe Mitcham ( District 6), Hunter Smith (District 7), George Mack, Jr. (District 11) and Debbie Abrahm ( District 12) voted in favor, allowing the measure to pass 7-5.

Though the initial three- year agreement covers clinics at those six schools, if the program goes well, Superintendent Ricky Durrett said the district hopes to expand to Ruston High as well as all the outlying schools in the parish.

Each school- based clinic would have a fulltime nurse and clerical staff member. Three nurse practitioners would split time between two sites each and could provide telehealth to the other site.

Durrett said the locations of these clinics on each campus aren’t final, but they would “work to give (Trinity) a classroom” to operate each clinic.

The clinics won’t completely replace the schools’ own nursing operations, but six parttime nursing positions will be cut.

Thornton said those nurses would be first in line to interview for clinic positions at those schools if they desire.

Parents are not required to let their children use the clinics. Optin forms will go home at the beginning of the school year along with other school paperwork. Parents who wish to opt in later will be able to do so online.

Officials said the biggest benefit they hope the clinics provide is keeping students in the classroom more.

“We give parents the opportunity to have their kid see in the moment, rather than asking a parent to come pick a child up, find a doctor who can see them and sit in a waiting room, with potential out- of- pocket expenses,” Barron said. “This way we can see them in the moment, respond in whatever way is appropriate and get them back in the classroom as soon as they’re able.”