Ashley High School to have wellness center this year

Wilmington Health Access for Teens will open its third school-based health center at Ashley High School as students return to their first day of the 2008-09 school year.

Modeled after the New Hanover High School Wellness Center which opened in 2004, the Ashley Wellness Center comprises about 500 square feet on one of the school's main corridors, recently renovated to accommodate the new health-care facility.

School-based health centers support healthy learners by treating acute conditions, such as colds and flu; managing chronic conditions, like diabetes and obesity; giving immunizations; conducting sports physicals and identifying students at risk for health and behavioral problems. At times, health care providers at school-based wellness centers refer students to other physicians, dentists, eye doctors and other mental health professionals when appropriate.

WHAT staff at the Ashley Wellness Center will include a family nurse practitioner/physician assistant, registered nurse site coordinator, a licensed clinical social worker, and a front office coordinator. Physical and mental health care services will be available during the school day and when school is in session. A licensed nutritionist will visit the school for consultations and educational programs.

Health officials and school administrators believe that greater access to adolescent-specific health care contribute to learning readiness and student success. In addition to providing quality health care, Ashley Wellness Center staff will present health education and prevention programs to faculty and classes, attend parent/teacher association meetings and parent conferences with school counselors, and act as a resource for any general school health issue.

WHAT Executive Director Dr. Tay Keong Tan, said, "Student representatives from Ashley have already expressed to us the importance of WHAT's behavioral care and nutritional counseling in meeting the emotional needs of students ... We are geared up and ready to provide better access to quality physical and mental health care for the student body at Ashley."

The opening of the Ashley High School Wellness Center has been made possible through financial support from a Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust grant, the North Carolina Office of Rural Health and additional funds from the Babies Hospital Foundation and general contributions from individual supporters of WHAT.

WHAT also operates school-based health centers at Mary S. Mosley Performance Learning Center High School (formerly Lakeside High School) and New Hanover High School, along with its 4003 Oleander Drive facility which also houses the nonprofit's administrative offices. Additional information about the health services WHAT offers to teens of the Cape Fear region is available by calling 790-9949.

Wilmington Health Access for Teens is a private, nonprofit health care center which provides affordable, accessible physical and mental health services to unserved and underserved teens, emphasizing a family-centered approach, while coordinating care and referrals with appropriate area providers.