For parents, guardians, or caregivers of school-aged children needing health services in preparation for the start of the school year, the upcoming 2025 School Health Fair hosted by the Elma School-Based Health Center is a one-stop resource.
The School Health Fair is scheduled for Aug. 25 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in the Elma Elementary Multipurpose Room and is being held the same night as Elma’s Back to School Night.
Christina Wallace, the student assistance navigator with the Elma School-Based Health Center, said that the School Health Fair is open to all school-age children in the Grays Harbor area. And most importantly, “nobody will be turned away,” she said. “We will bill insurance, if we can” but she emphasized that those attending “will not receive a bill.”
The available health services will be wellness visits, sports physicals, dental screenings, vision screenings and vision exams, and childhood vaccinations. Burgers and refreshments will also be served, and the first 150 kids will receive a water bottle.
The Elma School-Based Health Center opened in 2020 with funding from a Health Resources and Services Administration grant that was to provide medical services to students of need in rural areas.
Wallace shared that the main partners who started the center were Capital Region ESD 113 and Summit Pacific Medical Center. Due to COVID, it had a slow start but has since been expanding its services and partners in the subsequent years. Current partners include Elma Family Dental, Olympic Valley Clinic and EYE See Clinic; Big Smiles also provides dental services.
“We started with just some medical and a little bit of dental, and now have been providing vision and some more extensive dental,” said Wallace. “We’ve also been able to do autism and ADHD diagnosis for students.”
Having initially served 75 students, the center now serves 175 students.
“We started just at the elementary and then have now moved into the middle and high schools,” Wallace said. “That’s why we are providing sports physicals [this year].”
A grant extension is funding the center through this year, and Wallace said they are reapplying for another grant to fund the center.
“[We are] hopeful that we can keep it going,” Wallace said.
