Loudoun County Public Schools launches new healthcare plan

Let's switch gears here because Loudoun County Public Schools has launched a new partnership to make health care more accessible to its students and staff. It's a school-based health program in partnership with the Health Works of Northern Virginia. It'll expand access to everything from medical to dental to as well as behavioral health services. The initiative includes new mobile health units that'll bring care directly into those school communities. Joining us to tell us all about it is Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, Tedra Richardson, with more. And you've got two mobile units coming to the schools here and an expansion of this. this program. What's the goal here? Yes, we do. Good afternoon. This is a brand new partnership between LCPS and HealthWorks of Northern Virginia, and we are so excited to be bringing medical, dental, and behavioral health services to our community schools. Are we seeing that there is obviously a need here where maybe students and staff aren't being able to access, especially behavioral health experts or doctors here who can walk them through a crisis, for example? What exactly is what you're looking to make sure happens with these mobile units? Absolutely. This program is going to remove the barriers, whether it be transportation, whether it be our uninsured population, whether it just be challenges with scheduling and working to get in to see your medical, dental, and behavioral health folks. We are going to be bringing these resources to our schools. How's this going to work? Is there going to be a calendar where these units move from school to school? Can you book it and go from one school to the next for staff? Do they have to take sick time? How's this all going to work? Sure. So we are focusing on our community schools and HealthWorks of Northern Virginia does have a rotating schedule between LCPS as well as FCPS. And so we have identified the schools for which we are starting in our Sterling area, and then we will be expanding from there. But we will work with students, we will work with families, and we will work with staff so that their school days are not impacted. Okay. If, Tedra, if people want to find out more, where can they go to find out? Who can they contact to make an appointment? Certainly. Please go to the website for HealthWorks of Northern Virginia. And then after our ribbon cutting ceremony and soft launch, which we expect to have later this month, you can also access our LCPS website. We appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thank you. We'll be right back.