ZANESVILLE, Ohio — For a student in Maysville, Coshocton, Zanesville, Morgan County or Foxfire schools who wakes up sick, has asthma that needs managing, or is struggling with a behavioral health concern, care may now be down the hall instead of across town. Muskingum Valley Health Centers operates school-based health centers through partnerships with those five districts, and in early 2027 it will open a new one in the Rolling Hills Local School District in Guernsey County, according to an account by Rick Fulkerson, MVHC’s chief administrative officer, published by the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board.
“Healthy students are better prepared to learn, grow, and thrive,” Fulkerson wrote in the MVHC account. That belief, he wrote, is at the heart of the health centers’ school-based programs, which MVHC started in 2019.
The problem the program is built to solve is logistics. For many families, Fulkerson wrote, busy schedules, transportation, time away from work and difficulty arranging appointments can make it harder for children and adolescents to receive care. When a student is ill, managing a chronic condition, or experiencing a behavioral health concern, those challenges can affect attendance, concentration and success in the classroom, not just physical health.
Through its school health programs, MVHC provides access to pediatric and adolescent care, well-child visits, immunizations, asthma management, behavioral health, links to dental care and pharmacy services, according to the account. The stated goal is larger than treating an illness when it occurs: prevention, early intervention, ongoing wellness, and helping students develop healthy habits that can last a lifetime.
Getting to the in-school model took trial and error. MVHC first operated a school-linked system in which districts transported students to an MVHC facility and back — a model that required a staff member and a vehicle to be available at the time of every visit, Fulkerson wrote. It also operated a mobile health unit that parked in front of school buildings, which still required district personnel to mobilize students outside the building.
When the health center is located inside a district building, Fulkerson wrote, many of those hurdles are removed. Districts may still transport students from other buildings on a campus, but the time savings and the ability to schedule and stack appointments, he wrote, eliminate wasted resources for districts.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What we know: MVHC’s school-based centers currently serve students through partnerships with Maysville Local Schools, Coshocton City Schools, Zanesville City Schools, Morgan Local Schools and Foxfire Schools, and a sixth partnership, Rolling Hills in Guernsey County, is set to open in early 2027, according to Fulkerson’s account. What we’re still waiting on: an exact opening date for the Rolling Hills center, and district-by-district details on hours and how parents enroll a student — information families should watch for from MVHC and their school district as the opening approaches.
The model is part of a wider push to bring care closer to where southeast Ohio families already are. In neighboring Scioto County, Adena Health opened its first Scioto County clinic in Lucasville, and student health is a statewide concern as well — a new Bowling Green children’s crisis center is waiting on state certification. In Zanesville itself, community care takes other forms, including Ohio University Zanesville’s blanket drive for local families.
Fulkerson wrote that MVHC established the programs in part to improve student attendance — often called seat time — while supporting teachers’ instructional time. Improving attendance, he wrote, is one way to support educational opportunities and help close academic gaps, and school-based healthcare can be an important part of creating an environment in which students have a better opportunity to succeed.
The benefits can extend into the workplace, Fulkerson wrote. A parent whose child can be seen at school may, in certain circumstances, avoid leaving work, arranging transportation or taking time off for an appointment — fewer disruptions for families, and help for local employers whose workers are balancing home and job responsibilities.
What happens next is the Rolling Hills opening in early 2027, which will extend the in-school model into Guernsey County for the first time. Each partnership, Fulkerson wrote, represents a shared commitment to student well-being and a recognition that health and education are closely connected — schools gain a healthcare partner, educators can focus on teaching, and students gain a pathway to care that might otherwise go unattended.
Photo: Shixart1985, CC BY