Submitted by Madigan Army Medical Center
Military beneficiary students at River Ridge High School in Lacey can now access healthcare on campus.
Madigan Army Medical Center’s new school-based health clinic at River Ridge is a comprehensive, primary care clinic staffed with a nurse practitioner, a nurse and administrative staff who specialize in taking care of teenagers. This service is available to DEERS eligible Tricare beneficiaries at no cost to the student or the school. The school supports this program by providing space to Madigan staff for the clinic and in marketing and outreach efforts to eligible students.
“We are committed to keeping students in school, on time, all day, everyday! By providing access to medical services on-site, we are better supporting our students and their parents by reducing the time away from school for routine medical appointments,” said Dr. Debra Clemens, Superintendent for North Thurston Public Schools. “At River Ridge High School approximately 40 percent of our students are military connected; therefore, the classroom truly becomes the clinic’s waiting room. This expansion of services would not be possible without our strong partnership with Madigan Army Medical Center.”
Students can be seen for acute, minor and chronic illnesses, sports physicals, immunizations, and to manage long-term medications such as those for asthma and allergies. In addition, students can access counseling for behavioral health concerns, as well as laboratory and basic pharmacy services.
“We are excited to directly enhance the readiness of our military parents by providing this high quality, convenient service to their families,” said Col. (Dr.) Keith Lemmon, the medical director for Madigan’s School Based Health System. “We have great data supporting Soldier readiness improvement, improved quality of care in school clinics, and high student and family satisfaction with the program.”
All Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System enrolled active duty or retiree dependent teenagers attending River Ridge High School are eligible for the school-based healthcare services.
A kick-off event for the opening of the Madigan school-based health clinic is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16 at 8:45 a.m. The ceremony will be held at the River Ridge auditorium located at 350 River Ridge Dr. SE, in Lacey.
School-based health clinics for military-connected students are also in place in the Bethel, Clover Park, Steilacoom and Puyallup school districts.
To see photos of the ceremony, please visit Facebook.com/Madiganhealth.
