Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has announced more than $55 million in federal Rural Health Transformation Program awards aimed at bringing health care directly to children and families in rural Ohio, with the money split among a statewide expansion of school-based vision care, a brand-new school dental program, and dozens of school-based health centers, according to the announcement reported by The Ironton Tribune.
“The Rural Health Transformation Program has been instrumental in helping us to bring critical healthcare services to many more Ohioans,” DeWine said in the announcement, as reported by The Ironton Tribune. “I am so pleased to see our successful OhioSEE program expand statewide. These funds will also expand school-based health centers and increase much-needed access to dental services.”
The largest single piece of the vision effort will take OhioSEE statewide. DeWine launched OhioSEE in January as a pilot serving the 15 counties with the highest need, and the program has since grown to provide services in 252 public school districts, according to The Ironton Tribune’s report of the announcement. In the pilot area, 91 percent of eligible public-school districts are enrolled and are providing vision services to students in kindergarten through third grade.
OhioSEE brings vision services directly into participating schools, using either a mobile vision van or a roll-on/roll-off temporary clinic. Students can be seen by an optometrist for a comprehensive eye exam and, if needed, receive glasses. More than $18 million of the new federal funding, combined with existing state funds, will expand OhioSEE to all 88 counties, and in the 73 Rural Health Transformation Program-eligible counties the program will serve students in kindergarten through 12th grade, The Ironton Tribune reported.
The second piece is a new program modeled on the first. OhioDENTAL will bring dental services directly into participating schools, with providers using mobile dental vehicles or temporary clinics set up inside school buildings to provide comprehensive dental care and connect patients to brick-and-mortar clinics, according to the announcement. Ohio will invest more than $17 million in the dental effort.
The dental push responds to a documented gap: according to the 2024 National Survey of Children’s Health, cited in the announcement reported by The Ironton Tribune, Ohio lags behind other states in the percentage of children who receive preventive dental visits, with cost and a lack of providers keeping rural families from care. The funding will also train primary care professionals to incorporate oral health assessments, treatments and dental referrals into their practices, and support a new collaborative aimed at increasing the number of Ohio dentists who accept Medicaid.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: The totals and the three program areas are confirmed in the governor’s announcement. What has not yet been published is the county-by-county breakdown for most of the money, the start dates for the expanded vision routes, or which districts will host the first OhioDENTAL clinics. In Lawrence County, the announcement confirms funding for one new school-based health center, and expansion funding for the existing center at Rock Hill Local Schools, according to The Ironton Tribune.
School-based health centers are the third piece, drawing more than $20 million. The money will support opening 17 new sites in 15 counties and allow expansion or continued operation of another 49 centers in 25 counties, The Ironton Tribune reported. DeWine has prioritized the centers as a way to help families overcome barriers such as a lack of transportation or a shortage of local providers.
The announcement lands as health funding is being debated at the local level as well. In Columbus, Mayor Andrew Ginther’s proposed $1.3 billion budget would zero out funding for the city’s health centers, a contrast with the state’s rural investment. And in Appalachian Ohio, communities such as Chillicothe are weighing health and environmental costs alongside a $1.2 million city budget gap tied to the paper mill’s decline.
For rural families, the practical effect of the state program is care delivered where children already are. A student who fails a vision screening in a district with no optometrist nearby can be examined at school and fitted for glasses without a long drive or a parent missing a full day of work, and the same model will now apply to dental care.
The Ohio Department of Health will administer the funds alongside the governor’s office. District enrollment details for the expanded OhioSEE and the new OhioDENTAL program have not yet been released.
What happens next: the Department of Health is expected to publish the site lists and enrollment steps for the 17 new school-based health centers and the expanded vision program. NewsForce247 will update this story when the county-level allocations are released.
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