New School Based Health Center Opens at Cloonan Middle School
 Family Centers celebrated the opening of its newest School Based Health Center (SBHC) at Cloonan Middle School today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
While the SBHC had been serving students for the past two weeks, the event marked its official opening. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, Stamford Mayor David Martin, Stamford Public Schools Superintendant Dr. Winifred Hamilton and a number of Cloonan Middle School students were on hand.
“The opening of the Cloonan clinic gives kids living on the West Side of Stamford direct access to necessary medical, mental health and dental services,” said Dennis Torres, Family Centers’ Director of Health Care Programs. “Since many children in town are uninsured or underinsured, the health centers offer a gateway to care they might not otherwise have.”
The Cloonan SBHC is Family Centers’ fifth clinic serving Stamford Public Schools students. Available to all students enrolled in a public school in which a clinic is located, the SBHC’s are staffed by nurse practitioners, social workers and dental professionals, and provide medical assessments, physicals, mental health counseling, dental care and other services to nearly 1,050 children each year. Health education and outreach efforts are offered to an additional 8,100 students and families each year. Services are provided regardless of a family’s income or health insurance status.
Other clinics operated by Family Centers are housed at Stamford High School, Westhill High School, Rippowam Middle School/AITE High School and Dolan Middle School/Toquam Elementary School. An additional clinic serves Kids in Crisis in Greenwich.
Vacant space previously occupied by Cloonan Middle School’s Industrial Arts program was used to build the new clinic. Funding to renovate the space was made possible through a grant from the Health Resources & Service Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Social Services. Operating funds were provided by the State of Connecticut’s Department of Public Health and Stamford Public Schools.
Family Centers is a private, nonprofit organization offering education and human services to children, adults and families in Fairfield County. More than 2,400 professionals and trained volunteers work together to provide a wide range of responsive, innovative programs. A United Way, Community Fund of Darien and New Canaan Community Foundation partner agency, Family Centers is a member of the Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies and the Alliance for Children and Families and is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The agency is licensed by the State of Connecticut Departments of Public Health and Children and Families. Visit www.familycenters.org for additional information.
| 
