By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — Starting today, six Ruston schools will now house a clinic for staff and students that may find themselves ill or sick during a school day.
Thanks to a partnership with Trinity Community Health Centers of Louisiana, Glen View, Cypress Springs, Hillcrest, Ruston Elementary, I.A. Lewis and Ruston Junior High will all have a dedicated space for an exam room and clinic, offering free services to students of each school and all faculty and staff in Lincoln Parish.
“This is a great opportunity for us to collaborate and to serve the community,” Trinity Community Health Centers of Louisiana CEO Deano Thornton said. “The staff that we’ve worked with has been very receptive to the program, and we’re anxious to get it started.”
From the time the MOU was agreed upon back in the December 2024 LPSB school board meeting, the six schools have since been prepping a space in each building to be able to house a registered nurse and clerical worker, while three nurse practioners will rotate being onsite or conducting telehealth services. Trinity Community Health will be responsible for hiring staff to serve in each clinic.
For LPSB Director of Student Support Services Justin Barron, the big win for faculty and staff is that it will allow students to not have to miss school in order to see a doctor if they’re borderline not feeling well — while helping keep parents at work.
“If a student shows up to school and not feeling well, the teacher will then send them to the office, and if we have a signed consent form, then the student can go to the clinic,” Barron said. “At that point, they’ll receive the type of care they would get a normal walk-in clinic. And while this is not intended to supplant a child’s need to see their own pediatrician, we see this as a benefit of helping keep kids in school.”
Digital consent forms as of this morning have already been sent out to parents of students attending the six schools.
“I’m excited that our students and our staff will have access to this onsite,” new Ruston Elementary Principal Stephanie Griffin said. “So far, everyone has been easy to work with regarding set up and their communication with the faculty. They agreed to meet with our faculty Wednesday so we all have a full understanding of their helpfulness to the school.”
Ruston Junior High Principal Keshia Douglas echoed Griffin’s sentiments for the embedded clinics and acknowledged this could be a bonus for students who may not have regular access to services.
“I believe the health clinic will benefit our students here at Ruston Jr High,” Douglas said. “Students are less likely to miss school for medical appointments since care is available onsite. Parents may not have to leave work to take their child to a doctor, which means fewer absences for both students and guardians. Most importantly, it will benefit students who lack reliable access to healthcare, I believe the clinic could remove some financial and transportation barriers and offer services regardless of insurance status.”
The embedded clinics would come at no cost to any students, faculty or district staff, as Trinity’s status as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) would allow the company to be reimbursed for services by billing Medicaid alongside private insurance. For students that have no insurance, the co-pay will be written off.
“Being a 501c3, we receive some grant funding from the federal government and from some foundations,” Thornton said.
