Family Centers School Based Health Center opens at Turn of River Middle School
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On Monday, September 22, SPS Superintendent Tamu Lucero and Turn of River Principal Mark Bonasera welcomed elected and city officials for a ribbon cutting ceremony marking the opening of the new Family Centers School Based Health Center, located at Turn of River Middle School.
Family Centers School Based Health Centers (SBHC) are free-standing, federally qualified medical centers open to all students where a clinic is located, regardless of income or health care coverage. Students can go to the SBHCs for basic sick visits, physicals, immunizations, and more. In addition to the new SBHC at Turn of River, Family Centers operates medical centers at Cloonan, Dolan, Rippowam (also serving AITE), Stamford High School, and Westhill High School. All services are coordinated with the school nurse. Services are free, but parents must complete the Stamford School Based Health Centers Permission Form.
The SBHCs are staffed by nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, social workers, dental professionals and other personnel. More than 1,800 children receive primary health, dental and mental health care each year. Services are provided regardless of a family’s income or health insurance status.
Monday’s ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by Rep. Jim Himes, Family Centers’ CEO Louis Josephson, Family Centers’ Chief Health Officer Dennis Torres, Special Assistant to Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons Janeene Freeman, and Stamford’s Director of Health and Human Services Jodi Bishop-Pullan, among others.
The Health Centers are funded and operated by Family Centers. At the request of Rep. Jim Himes, Family Centers received a $1M grant as part of the federal omnibus funding package that was passed in December 2022 to support this project.