A group of Wenatchee educators and community members are fighting to get support to establish a health clinic to help students.

“We’ve been working on what we endearingly call the Wenatchee School District mental health initiative,” WestSide High School Principal Kory Kalahar said.

Kalahar, accompanied by Lincoln Elementary School Principal Tim Sheppard, East Wenatchee Clinic physician Dr. Debra Lapo, M.D., and Marriage and Family Therapist Kristen Callison presented a plan at the Wenatchee School Board meeting last night to establish a “School Based Health Clinic,” at Lincoln Elementary.

“Physical health, mental health, and behavioral care have significant implications,” Callison said. “Chronic stress of significant adversity is associated with long-term changes in brain structure and function.”

According to a study conducted by Callison in 2014, 89 percent of fourth graders in Lincoln Elementary had experienced at least one adverse child experience (ACE). Fifty one percent of fourth graders had experienced four or more ACEs.

ACEs include a loss of a parent, witnessing or experiencing violence, and witnessing or experiencing sexual encounters.

Lapo believes that a health clinic would provide help for students who wouldn’t otherwise receive that support. “A lot of families don’t take advantage of our recommendations,” she said.

The plan the team submitted to the board required the district’s support, asking them to provide for electricity, water, and custodial ongoing costs as well as providing the funding to establish the clinic in a portable adjacent to Lincoln. If successful, the clinic would be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. More funding would result in more days the clinic would be able to provide support. The board did not make any decisions regarding funding during the meeting.

“We need district support for the project to move forward,” Sheppard said.

The project has already accumulated community support from local organizations, including Confluence Health, The Wenatchee World, and the Education School District, among others.

Confluence Health has begun conducting a feasibility study. No timeline for the project was provided during the meeting.