Bianca Moorman/The Meridian StarWanda Lloyd, a family nurse practitioner at the Frank Berry and Carver health clinics, demonstrates a medical device at Carver Middle School.  

Instead of leaving the building for medical care, students, teachers and members of the Carver Middle School community can now have their needs met on campus.

The school’s new health clinic, unveiled Wednesday, is located near the gym and is open to students, faculty and the community.

The clinic is the second to open under a partnership between the Greater Meridian Health Clinic and the Meridian Public School District. The other clinic is on the T.J. Harris Upper Elementary School campus, not far from Frank Berry Courts.

The clinic offers services such as healthy child screenings, wellness checks, vaccinations, mental health and family health checks. Dental services such as teeth cleaning, dental exams and cavity repairs are also offered. 

The clinic charges a fee and accepts insurance. If a patient does not have insurance, they are set up with a payment plan.

Amy Carter, the superintendent of the school district, said the new site will provide students and their families an opportunity to receive healthcare without going to the doctor.

“We’re excited that mothers don’t have to take their children directly to the doctor,” she said. “They can bring them here.”

Carter said she’s used the Frank Berry Courts clinic and likes how it offers easy access to medical care. 

“It’s convenient for our teachers, because they don’t have to miss days from work when they can run over and get services from the clinic,” she said.

Wanda Lloyd, the family nurse practitioner at both the Frank Berry and Carver clinics, said the clinics help people who may not have access to heath care.  

“I can reach areas where there is a need for improving health and health access,” she said. “They can seek medical attention right here at the school.”

Greater Meridian Health Clinic opened in 1989 to provide affordable healthcare in Lauderdale, Noxubee, Kemper, Winston and Oktibbeha counties. Last year, the clinic served an estimated 11,000 patients.

Between January 2018 and January 2019, 323 patients were served at the school-based clinics, according to Wilbert Jones, the CEO of the Greater Meridian Health Clinic. Those numbers include school staff and students.

Carter said the long term goal is to set up more clinics at other schools. The next school to get a clinic could be Meridian High School or Northwest Junior High School, she said. 

Carter hopes the clinics fill a void in the community’s access to healthcare.

“We are putting East Mississippi on the map with school-based clinics,” she said.