PORT ANGELES, Wash. — A new mobile health clinic is making its way to schools all across Port Angeles.
It provides everything from immunizations to physicals, but the greatest need providers are seeing is for mental health care.
Noah Larsen got a sports physical from a licensed nurse practitioner outside a neighborhood school on Friday. The 9-year-old plans to play soccer and basketball this school year.
The clinic serves students in eight schools across the Port Angeles School District.
Noah's mom believes a healthy body equates to better achievement in school.
"When we are providing for behavioral, physical and mental health needs it allows students to be more prepared to come to school ready to learn and also to interact with their peers," Becca Larsen said.
Other districts have implemented health clinics inside some schools, but the fact that this one comes directly to students is a game changer.
It breaks down barriers for parents who can't miss work or have transportation issues -- people who are often on the low end of the income scale and already susceptible to health problems.
"Having kids not have to miss school or worry about a parent getting off of work to pick them up and take them to a clinic, being able to take those services directly to them breaks down those barriers and helps them access those services more effectively," said Dr. Michael Maxwell, CEO of the North Olympic Healthcare Network (NOHN), which runs the clinic.
NOHN garnered $400,000 in public and private grants to buy and outfit 38-foot Winnebago.
The clinic also houses a mental health counselor, and those services are desperately needed as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic linger.
Of the 31 appointments already booked for the clinic this year, 29 of them are for issues related to anxiety, depression, self harm, thoughts of suicide or other behavioral problems.
Noah's mom, Becca, also works with the clinic to help kids in need navigate through their struggles.
"There might be some triggers in the school that make it hard to focus. That's why our providers provide strategies," she said. "We do that so kids can be successful in class, and the earlier we catch it the better."
Funding for the mobile clinic is secured through the end of June 2024.
After that, NOHN plans to find a way to keep it rolling.
"We will try to subsidize it. This is not a money maker," Maxwell said. "We are doing this because it's the right thing to do for our community."