The district built the wellness center from the ground up and opened it to the public with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday.
Twiggs County, Ga. — Twiggs County Public Schools has opened its first-ever Wellness Center.
The district built it from the ground up and opened it to the public with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday.
The wellness center was established for Twiggs County students, their families, faculty and staff, but is also open to the public.
We provide behavioral, dental, medical and other services to promote the health of students and their families.
The ceremony was preceded by a program in which school board members, county commissioners and health care partners spoke about the purpose and services provided.
Twiggs County Public Schools Superintendent Mac Bullard said the new wellness center will be easily accessible to everyone.
“Unhealthy kids can’t learn,” Bullard said. “We’re excited. We’ve removed a transportation barrier, a financial barrier, an economic barrier, an access barrier. All of those barriers are being removed by having a school-based health center here on campus. It was removed by.”
The Wellness Center includes approximately 10 offices, dental and health exam rooms, laboratories, mental health counseling rooms, and therapy rooms.
Nurses, certified therapists, and dental hygienists are always on site.
Carla Belcher is Chief Executive Officer for Regional Health Systems.
Belcher said he hopes to get the community involved by making them aware of the services available.
“In many cases, especially children in rural areas, their parents may be working elsewhere, and this gives them the opportunity to see them locally in person and using telemedicine or telemedicine. “We’ll be able to introduce parents virtually if they can’t be here,” Belcher said.
Morgan Stinson is the Behavioral Health Director at Community Health System. He will be working with teachers, students and their families in the field.
“We want to build trust,” Stinson said. “Talking to strangers can be dangerous to your mental health, and we want to reduce that. We’ll explore strategies to improve your overall health. ”
In August 2022, Twiggs County Schools was approved for a $1 million grant from Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia State Board of Education to launch a school-based health center.
Now that they have this building, they have already begun construction on another building across the street from Bullard Street that will soon provide community health services and resources.
