CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Adena Health last week dedicated a new on-campus health clinic at the Chillicothe High School and Middle School campus, giving students and staff access to preventive care, chronic disease management, mental health support, immunizations and physicals without leaving school.
The Cavalier Care Clinic is the latest addition to Adena’s school-based health network, which now serves more than 25,000 students and 4,000 staff members across 12 districts in central and southern Ohio, according to Adena Health.
“At Adena Health, we believe access to healthcare should be convenient, close to home, and available when and where people need it,” Adena President and CEO Kathi Edrington said in a statement. “The Cavalier Care Clinic brings that commitment to life in a really meaningful way.”
Students in Chillicothe City Schools’ AIM program, which lets students interested in health care careers shadow Adena providers and work in the hospital’s simulation lab throughout the year, assisted at the clinic’s opening and cut the ribbon themselves, according to the release.
“I can tell you this clinic is going to be a game-changer for our students,” Kathy Payne, interim superintendent for Chillicothe City Schools, said in a statement. “We have many students that do not have consistent health care, and now they will.”
The clinic is one of five new school-based health sites Adena has opened with the help of grant funding, along with locations at Pickaway-Ross Career and Technology Center and Adena, Union-Scioto and Huntington local schools. Adena also runs a Mobile Clinic that visits other area schools and, last month, opened an $8.7 million wellness center in Frankfort.
A 2024 grant from the Appalachian Children’s Health Initiative, administered by Nationwide Children’s Hospital on behalf of the Appalachian Children Coalition, funded development of the new clinics and helped expand Adena’s Mobile Clinic services, according to the release.
“When Gov. (Mike) DeWine announced these transformational investments more than two years ago, he did so because he believes in Appalachia and the people who call it home,” Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development, said in a statement. “He wanted to provide communities the opportunity to create real, undeniable change driven entirely by the needs and the dreams of the people who live here.”
The school-based health centers are also supported by a $408,404 financial assistance award from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, with 76% funded federally and 24% funded through Ohio State General Revenue funds, according to Adena.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Adena Health.
