St. Mary’s County, Maryland – The St. Mary’s County Health Department (SMCHD) has partnered with WellCheck to launch a new digital enrollment tool for School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) in St. Mary’s County. The tool is available at smchd.org/sbhc and works on most electronic devices, including smartphones and tablets. It simplifies and streamlines the enrollment process, making accessing health care services more convenient and efficient for students, staff, and community members.
To be seen at any of the clinics, individuals must enroll in the SBHC program. Through a partnership with St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS), SMCHD operates the first two SBHCs in southern Maryland at Margaret Brent Middle School and Spring Ridge Middle School. These SBHCs offer routine and urgent medical care, rapid testing for colds and chronic illnesses, sports physicals, nutrition counseling, and treatment of minor injuries. The SBHC clinical team coordinates with the patient’s established primary care clinician.
The SBHCs are open Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All SMCPS students and employees, regardless of host school, can use these SBHCs if they are enrolled in the SBHC program. Community members who are enrolled in the SBHC program may also make appointments for after-school hours from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. To enroll or make an appointment, individuals can visit smchd.org/sbhc or call one of the phone numbers below:
• Margaret Brent Middle School-Based Health Center: 240-434-6060
• Spring Ridge Middle School-Based Health Center: 240-434-6059
Chris Nickerson, CEO at WellCheck, stated, “We use our mobile devices for many of our daily tasks so providing a HIPAA-compliant digital enrollment tool for the St. Mary’s County community is very powerful. Leveraging technology to transform a somewhat arduous paper-driven process into a streamlined digital enrollment that can be completed on any device will save valuable time for community members.”
Dr. Meena Brewster, St. Mary’s County Health Officer, emphasized the convenience of SBHCs, stating, “School-based health centers offer a convenient way for students and school staff to receive evaluation and treatment for illness or injury without a major loss of school or work time. This is especially convenient for parents who might otherwise have to take time off of work in order to transport a sick child to traditional urgent care where they may be waiting for hours. Many children seen at an SBHC are able to return to their classroom with minimal time away from learning. SBHCs can also improve access to health care in communities like ours with shortages of primary care clinicians.”
Dr. J. Scott Smith, Superintendent of St. Mary’s County Public Schools, expressed his support for the new digital enrollment tool, saying, “We are encouraged that the new digital enrollment tool will make it easier for our families and staff to enroll in the SBHC program, giving them access to the many health care services they provide.”
For more information about St. Mary’s County’s School-Based Health Centers and to enroll in the program, please visit smchd.org/sbhc.