Сокращение федерального финансирования привело к закрытию школьных медицинских клиник в юго-западной Вирджинии

Southwest Virginia schools lose on-campus health clinics as funding cuts suspend program Several school systems across Southwest Virginia are losing access to school-based health clinics after funding cuts forced their suspension. For some families, the news came as a shock. Parents said they're disappointed to lose a resource they relied on and said it leaves them with more questions than answers. Parents, students and staff are now preparing for a school year without the convenience of on-campus health care. Honestly, my heart broke because now we have to, now you really have to take the time off of work. I mean, I could just run over on my lunch break, said Rich Valley Elementary Employee & Grandparent, Skyla Wilson. The clinics brought primary care closer to students, staff and their families. They were operated by Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems, not by the school divisions. To keep the kids in school and also provide care in the school system, said Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems CEO, Bryan Haynes. What started at one school had grown to eight campuses across Southwest Virginia, including Saltville, Washington County, Va. and Chilhowie, where access to health care can be limited. I had an incident where my heart started racing. We were grateful to have it out here because we didn't have to go so far, said Wilson. Now that's changing. Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems says it can no longer afford to operate the clinics after losing millions of dollars in federal funding. It is from reduced funding from the 340B pricing program, and we lost probably $2.3 million in the last 3 1/2 years, Haynes said. Washington County, Va. Schools Superintendent Keith Perrigan said the system is already looking for a path forward. We're certainly disappointed. This is, as I've said before, probably non instructionally the best resource that we've added to public schools since I've been in public education the last 31 years, said Washington County, Va. Schools Superintendent Keith Perrigan. Perrigan said the loss reaches beyond health care, touching the school day itself. Because of the proximity and the availability, it's really helped our attendance rates improve with students and with our staff, Perrigan said. Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems CEO Bryan Haynes said while the school-based clinics are going away, the health system will continue providing care at its community health centers. It was a very hard decision to make, a problem that impacted a lot of people. It was probably the hardest decision that I've had to make since being here over the past 15 years, said Haynes.