District health team outlines vision clinics, says 158 students got exams and 140 received glasses

Assistant Superintendent Chad Carpenter introduced the district’s Student Health Department and turned the presentation over to nurse Mindy Garcia, who outlined the team’s work and district partnerships.

Garcia said the department manages immunization records, health-care plans for students with chronic conditions (for example diabetes or seizure care) and trains staff to support students’ medical needs. She described the district’s vision-screening and SiteFest partnership, which brings volunteers and clinic partners into schools so students who lack insurance or transportation get screening and glasses.

"So this year alone, just to those 2 clinics, we've been able to take 87 students from our district to get an eye exam and glasses," Garcia said when describing rotational clinics; later she summarized the district-wide SiteFest numbers: "This year alone, we were able to get 158 eye exams done for Ogden School District. They prescribed 140 glasses, and then 13 students were referred for further treatment." (Transcript language preserved.)

Garcia said Friends for Sight follows up with families when students need additional screening such as dilation or specialist referral. She also noted long-standing volunteer contributions from medical providers and community groups and described logistical work—permission slips, transportation and volunteer coordination—required to run district-wide site clinics.

Board members asked whether CPR training is offered to staff and how many are certified; Garcia said the district offers staff CPR classes and that coaches and athletic staff are separately required to be certified. Board members also asked about the nature of referrals and follow-up; Garcia confirmed Friends for Sight helps families secure further care.

The presentation emphasized the student health team’s role during COVID and ongoing contributions to keeping students in school by managing medical needs and screenings. No board action was requested; the item was informational.