Clinic partnership proposed to extend in-school behavioral health to Eunice High School

Dr. Sylvia Henry Brown presented a recommendation to amend the memorandum of understanding with Open Healthcare Clinic so the provider's behavioral-health services at Eunice Junior High can be extended to Eunice High School. The committee moved the item to the full board for approval.

Tim Young, identified in the meeting as CEO of Open Healthcare Clinic, described how school-based counselors would be supplemented but not replaced by the new service: "This is just an additional layer of support not to replace our current counselors," he said. Counselor Sienna Nankos described typical sessions as "about 30 to 45 minutes" and said services are provided during ancillary class time with parental consent verified at intake and at each visit.

Young told the committee the provider bills Medicaid and commercial insurance and will bill the state for uninsured students so the district would not face direct service costs: "We bill Medicaid or commercial insurance or we'll provide the cost of services at no cost if the student doesn't have any kind of insurance." He also described telehealth and local mental-health nurse practitioners who can provide medication management.

Board members sought operational clarifications about credentials and consent. A staff member confirmed clinicians must be licensed (clinical social worker, licensed professional counselor, or licensed addiction counselor) and that parental consent is obtained and reconfirmed at each visit. The presenters said the program can also perform home interventions and triage after-hours threats reported through the district's monitoring platform.

The committee voted to send the recommendation to the full board. The next step is a full-board review where the MOU amendment, parental-consent procedures and billing arrangements will be considered.