When Cleveland High School went home in March 2020, it took its Student Health Center with it. The clinic’s small physical size made it difficult to socially distance effectively, and resources were diverted only to the schools with the most need for them. As a result, its resources (like others) had been used at the only three Student Clinics open over the quarantine at Roosevelt, David Douglas, and Parkrose high schools. The center, which had been open since the early ‘80s, had to shut its doors.
Now, after over a year and a half, the Student Health Center is finally open again, and it is one of the last PPS schools to do so. Since Oct. 18, it has been providing PPS students in the area with regular exams and physicals, immunizations, dental hygiene, reproductive care, mental health counseling, and more.
“It’s been great!” said health provider Amy Toengi. “I’m so happy to be back at Cleveland, because the students here are awesome.”
One other much-needed new addition to the SHC, after the re-opening, is our mental health provider, Julie Glover. The clinic now has greater resources to offer counseling to students.
Since returning, the SHC has also been providing COVID-19 tests and immunizations. There has been much demand.
“I think we’re very equipped [to meet the need of students], but right now it’s been so much COVID care that it’s been pretty busy. We see students from Kindergarten-12th grade, so we’ve been seeing a lot of the community. We also have testing outside of the school, but we also have a vaccine clinic every Tuesday afternoon. We anticipate that we’re going to have a big influx when vaccines are available for 5-11-year-olds, which should happen in the first couple of weeks of November,” Toengi said.
Student Health Centers are organized through Multnomah County, and funded through insurance, Medicaid, grants, and public funds. Schools share medical charting with the rest of Multnomah County Health Department (MCHD), and with other health providers around the county, like OHSU, Providence, and Kaiser, in order to coordinate.
Cleveland’s Student Health Center can be found in room 163. Phone, video, and in-person appointments can also be made by phone at 503-988-3350, and more information can be found on the CHS website.