Sturgis Public Schools would like to thank the community for being engaged partners as we discussed the Student Help & Healing Center's placement at Eastwood Elementary School. Based on community feedback, the Board of Education voted during the Monday, January 13, 2025 meeting to make the following changes to the center.

Starting on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, the Student Help & Healing Center will only serve students that attend Eastwood Elementary School. The center is only open for Eastwood students that are in attendance, students that are home sick will need to contact another clinic or health care center for care. This will ensure that known illnesses are not brought into the building.
In the meantime, we will continue to support the Student Help & Healing Center find a partner to oversee the program and grant. After a partner is secured, the center will be moved off-site, and it will resume serving all other Sturgis Public Schools students as well as other children/adolescents throughout our greater community. We do not have an exact timeline for this, but the deadline is by the end of the school year.

The Student Help & Healing Center offers same day appointments for things such as yearly physical exams, dental and vision screenings, basic lab tests, crisis intervention, sports physicals, sick visits, immunizations, sports injuries, and referral for resources such as food, shelter, financial issues, and transportation. The center accepts and bills all insurance. Thanks to their grant funding there is no out of pocket cost for students. The center is located at Eastwood School (909 S. Franks Ave, Sturgis, MI 49091). To schedule an appointment, please email [email protected] This email is not for emergency purposes, for emergencies please call 911 or seek the nearest ER for any medical/mental health emergencies.

Why did the Student Help & Healing Center Move?

Ascension has operated two grant funded health centers in Sturgis for years (1) a school-linked health center (The Student Help & Healing Center) at 1555 E. Chicago Rd. and (2) a school-based health center at Eastwood Elementary School. The school-based center has not operated at Eastwood for several years due to staff shortages. Ascension Michigan and Henry Ford Health have recently entered into a joint venture, and through the transition, the lease for The Student Help & Healing Center has expired. To ensure continued care, we have worked with Ascension Michigan and Henry Ford Health to transition the Student Help & Healing Center to the grant funded health center at Eastwood as we look to find a new partner that can move the center back off-site.

What safety protocols are in-place for parents that visit the health center?

All Eastwood parents are required to buzz in through our video intercom for entry and proceed directly to the main office. They will then be greeted by office personnel, who will run their drivers license through our Raptor Emergency Response System and check PowerSchool to ensure that they are a parent of the Eastwood student that is receiving care. After the license is run and PowerSchool is checked, an office staff member will radio a health center or Eastwood staff member to come down to the office to escort the parent to the health center. If something of concern is discovered when the license is scanned or PowerSchool is searched; an Administrator, our Safety Director, or our School Resource Officer will support the situation. When the parent is ready to leave the health center, a health center staff member will escort them to check out of the building in the main office and then exit the building.

Will students be seen without parent consent?

Parent consent is required before treatment can occur.

You mentioned that you are looking for a partner to take over the grant, can you expand on that?

Ascension Michigan and Henry Ford Health have recently entered into a joint venture. Sturgis does not fall into the service area for the School Based & School Linked Health Centers under this new joint venture, so Ascension Michigan and Henry Ford Health are continuing to support the Health Center find a new partner by the end of the school year. If a new partner is not secured by the end of the school year, the Student Help & Healing Center will have to close. Any prospective partner must be from the healthcare industry (e.g. a hospital, health clinic, etc…), and the grant will be amended to move the Student Help & Healing Center back off-site. If you know of a potential healthcare partner that is interested in overseeing the Student Help & Healing Center grant, please have them contact me at [email protected] I will then connect them with Ascension Michigan and Henry Ford Health, so that they can review the grant requirements to determine if the partnership does or does not work for them.

What other safety enhancements are you looking into?

In addition to the items that we have communicated before, we are working with a third party safety assessment professional that will provide us with recommendation to further improve our visitor management processes.

Does Sturgis Public School receive any funds from the grant?

No, Sturgis Public Schools does not receive any funds from the grant, and does not benefit financially in any way from this partnership and grant. 

Communication was a big concern, how will this be fixed?

There is no one but me to blame for the communication concerns. I apologize for this, and am committed to taking actions to fix this. Moving forward, you can expect proactive informational communications that provide you with the opportunity to give feedback prior to final decisions on big changes that the district is considering.