Rockbridge County High School is partnering with Rockbridge Area Health Center to make healthcare and mental health treatment easily accessible to students. As part of this initiative, the school now hosts Autumn Kelland, MA, and Kerri Stillwell, PA.
Stillwell is a Physician Assistant. She said that the reason she got into the medical field was to “make a difference in people’s lives.”
She works under the supervision of a physician; however she functions as an independent practitioner for Rockbridge County High School.
The convenience of having medical care onsite benefits students in numerous ways. For some students, doctors appointments are difficult to obtain, and can be scheduled as far as an entire week after the initial call. Having onsite health care mitigates that, and students are able to be seen the same day.
“Having this mobile clinic helps expand accessibility….especially in a county like this, there’s a big discrepancy, and some people don’t have the luxury of having transportation to be able to get to the doctor,” said Stillwell.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, the world quickly learned the best ways to prevent disease outbreaks. Having the clinic onsite helps to prevent outbreaks of disease, according to Stillwell.
“Let’s say there’s a strep outbreak. We’ll be able to bring people into the clinic to have them tested and be treated that same day,” said Stillwell.
Instead of students going home early and seeing the doctor two to three days later and missing school, she said “You can come out here to be tested, we send in an antibiotic right away. Theoretically, depending on how early you can start your antibiotics, you can come back the next day.”
The mobile clinic is at the high school every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday that school is in session. To be seen during class, a student must first go see the nurse, who can then refer them to the clinic.
Autumn Kelland, a counselor with years of experience in various forms of therapy, including equine and animal therapy, works directly out of the high school. Her role is to offer therapy sessions, different from th
e role of the school counselors.
“I’m here to listen, and I think that’s the biggest thing, to listen to others, but not to give up hope because we’re here. I’m here, there are people here who want to help,” said Kelland.
This partnership comes at a critical time, as attention to mental health skyrockets nationwide. According to the Virginia Department of Health, nearly 4 in 10, which is 38.1 percent of Virginia students, never or rarely got the kind of help they needed when they were in emotional distress, and as an indirect result, hurt themselves.
Having a therapist on school grounds allows students easier access to care, without the need to leave school. Appointments are kept as confidential as possible. The school uses SecurlyPass (recently rebranded, previously named E-Hallpass) to ensure students can attend therapy sessions discreetly.
“I don’t go to classrooms and escort students, because I want to make sure that they feel comfortable…I want to keep their confidentiality.” said Kelland.
The partnership between RCHS and RAHC serves to offer students convenient access to healthcare and mental health service, addressing a critical, nationwide deficit of both services. The initiative not only ensures timely medical interventions, but supports students by providing treatment when they need it.
To be eligible for these services, students need to have filled out the RAHC forms that were distributed at the beginning of the year. In the event that a student needs medical care, see Nurse Penny. If she determines that the condition is both legitimate and serious enough, she can give the student a referral to Stillwell. Regarding mental health care, students can see their guidance counselor for a referral to Kelland.
