MARION, Ohio — Marion County will get a new school-based health center under a state funding announcement that directs more than $55 million toward health care in rural Ohio, according to an announcement from Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health reported by the Marion Star on Thursday, Nov. 5.
The Marion County site is one of 17 new school-based health centers planned in 15 Ohio counties. More than $20 million of the package will support those new sites along with the expansion or continued operation of 49 existing centers in 25 counties, the Marion Star reported. The announcement did not identify where in Marion County the new center will be located, which school or health provider will operate it, or how much of the funding is earmarked for the Marion site specifically.
School-based health centers put primary care services directly on school campuses, a model the state says removes two of the biggest obstacles rural families face: transportation and a shortage of nearby providers. A student who feels sick or needs a checkup can be seen where they already spend the day, instead of waiting for a parent to arrange a trip across the county. The centers do not only serve students — according to the announcement reported by the Marion Star, they also serve people living in the surrounding community.
For Marion County families, that could mean fewer missed workdays for parents, fewer missed class days for students, and earlier treatment for everyday illnesses and injuries that grow more serious when care is hard to reach. State health officials point to the same problem in the Ohio Department of Health’s Ohio Chronic Disease Atlas 2025, which found rural Ohioans face higher chronic disease rates and lower access to specialty care.
The school-based centers are only one piece of the package. More than $18 million, on top of existing state funding, will expand OhioSEE — the state’s school vision program — to all 88 Ohio counties. In the 73 counties eligible for Rural Health Transformation Program funding, OhioSEE will serve students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
OhioSEE brings eye care into schools through mobile vision vans or temporary clinics set up inside school buildings. Students receive comprehensive eye exams from optometrists and glasses when they need them, at school rather than at a distant office. DeWine launched OhioSEE in January as a pilot in 15 counties identified as having the highest need, and it has since grown to 252 public school districts. Within the original pilot area, 91% of eligible public school districts now participate, the Marion Star reported.
A third piece of the package puts more than $17 million into oral health, including a new program called OhioDENTAL modeled on OhioSEE. OhioDENTAL will use mobile dental vehicles or temporary clinics inside schools to deliver dental services and connect patients with permanent clinics for follow-up care. The funding also supports oral health training for primary care professionals and a new collaborative aimed at increasing the number of Ohio dentists who accept Medicaid.
“Oral health is a vital part of one’s overall health,” Ohio Department of Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff said in the announcement, as reported by the Marion Star. “Untreated tooth decay can impact a child’s eating, sleeping and other everyday activities, and eventually could lead to tooth loss or other more serious complications. Therefore, creating programs like these that can reach children at an early age will be a real game-changer and lead to a healthier Ohio.”
The money behind all three efforts is federal. The latest funding comes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under the Rural Health Transformation Program. Ohio previously received $202,030,262 through that program, and earlier rounds directed $10 million to the rural health workforce, $3.15 million to pharmacy connectivity and $92 million to expand access to preventive, primary, maternal and behavioral health care in rural areas, according to the Marion Star.
Marion is the only Central Ohio county on the new-site list. The other counties receiving new centers are Allen, Darke, Greene, Guernsey, Highland, Lawrence, Morgan, Noble, Paulding, Perry, Sandusky, Scioto, Washington and Wood, with Noble and Washington counties each slated for two sites. Central Ohio does appear elsewhere in the package: Logan County is among the 25 counties where an existing school-based health center will receive funding for expansion or continued operation.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: Confirmed so far: Marion County will receive funding for one new school-based health center; the statewide package totals more than $55 million across school-based centers, OhioSEE vision care and OhioDENTAL; and the money is federal Rural Health Transformation Program funding with the Ohio Department of Health as lead agency. Still unknown: the Marion center’s location and host school, its operating health provider, the county’s individual funding amount, and an opening timeline. The state’s announcement, as reported Thursday, answered none of those local questions.
What happens next is a local decision. County and school officials, working with the Ohio Department of Health, will need to identify a host campus and clinical partner, and the state is expected to release site-level details as awards are finalized. NewsForce247 will follow the Marion County site selection and report the location, provider and opening timeline as soon as officials confirm them.
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