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New Student Health Center Coming To Stamford's Cloonan Middle School

STAMFORD, Conn. -- Greenwich-based Family Centers will officially mark the opening of its newest School Based Health Center at Cloonan Middle School in Stamford on Monday, Sept. 29.

The health center will give the West Side of Stamford direct access to necessary medical, mental health and dental services.

The health center will give the West Side of Stamford direct access to necessary medical, mental health and dental services.

Photo Credit: Bassett.org

The event will begin at 8:30 a.m., with a reception, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Cloonan Middle School’s 11 West North Street campus in Stamford.  U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, Stamford Public Schools Superintendent Winifred Hamilton and local dignitaries are expected to join representatives from Family Centers to mark the occasion.

“The opening of the Cloonan clinic gives kids living on the West Side of Stamford direct access to necessary medical, mental health and dental services,” said Dennis Torres, Family Centers’ director of health care programs.  “Since many children in town are uninsured or under-insured, the health centers offer a gateway to care they might not otherwise have.”

The Cloonan SBHC is Family Centers’ fifth clinic serving Stamford Public Schools students.  Available to all students enrolled in a public school in which a clinic is located, the SBHC’s are staffed by nurse practitioners, social workers and dental professionals, and provide medical assessments, physicals, mental health counseling, dental care and other services to nearly 1,050 children each year. Health education and outreach efforts are offered to an additional 8,100 students and families each year. Services are provided regardless of a family’s income or health insurance status.

Other clinics operated by Family Centers are housed at Stamford High School, Westhill High School, Rippowam Middle School/AITE High School and Dolan Middle School/Toquam Elementary School. An additional clinic serves Kids in Crisis in Greenwich. 

“The health and well-being of our students plays an important role in their ability to learn,”  said Hamilton, the schools superintendent. “Stamford Public Schools is pleased to work with Family Centers to offer even more of our students with easy access to high quality health care.”

Vacant space previously occupied by Cloonan Middle School’s Industrial Arts program was used to build the new clinic.  Funding to renovate the space was made possible through a grant from the Health Resources & Service Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Operating funds were provided by the State of Connecticut’s Department of Public Health and Stamford Public Schools.

 

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