SPOKANE, Wash. — The Intercollegiate Center for Nursing Education/WSU College of Nursing is once again going mobile to serve the health care needs of Spokane County residents through a unique project with Central Valley School District junior high school students.
The ICNE Nurse Clinic will conduct sports physicals from 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, at North Pines Junior High School, located at 701 North Pines Road. Central Valley School District junior high school students attending North Pines, Evergreen and Greenacres who need sports physicals to participate in athletics for the 2000-01 school year are eligible to participate. No appointments are necessary. Primary health care services will also be available.
Loly Reyes, Clinic Outreach Nursing Services coordinator, has been working with schools and community groups to determine where the health care need exists.
The coordinator knows this approach to health care services is valued and vital to the community. “These students can’t participate in school sports unless they pass a sports physical. The ICNE Clinic is located downtown, but we need to provide health care services to families throughout Spokane County. If they can’t come to us, if it’s practical, we’ll go to them,” Reyes said.
The fee for sports physicals is $20 per student. Care will be offered and provided to all students who attend the clinic. Washington Basic Health and Medicaid insurance and forms will be accepted. Parent consent is required for sports physicals and primary care services such as well-child exams and immunizations. Clinic participants should bring current immunization records.
Registered nurses and nurse practitioners from the ICNE Nurse Clinic will provide the care with the assistance of school and parent/community volunteers.
The ICNE Nurse Clinic has provided health care clinics at Spokane School District 81 schools since March as part of the Pediatric Outreach Project funded by Holy Family Hospital in the spring and Agilent Technologies during the summer.
“Because we come to neighborhood schools, the POP has been extremely successful in reaching families that might not otherwise seek proper health care treatment,” said Reyes. “The POP has helped more than 150 families with emergent health care. We’re looking for a funding partner to continue the project this fall.”
The nurse-managed clinic was established in 1998 to increase access to health care throughout Spokane County. The clinic is staffed and operated by the ICNE/WSU College of Nursing. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and matched with contributions from local businesses and the community, the clinic provides health care services to an estimated 120,000 underinsured or uninsured children and adults in Spokane County.
The ICNE Nurse Clinic, located on the second floor of the YWCA, 829 W. Broadway Ave., is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday; and is closed on Friday.
The ICNE/WSU College of Nursing offers baccalaureate, graduate and professional development course work to nursing students enrolled through its four consortium partners: Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, Washington State University and Whitworth College. For more information, visit the Web site at www.icne.wsu.edu.
