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Student health center opening at Cumming Elementary
County OKs funds for vital upgrades to 2 fire stations By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com
By CHAMIAN CRUZ chamian@appenmedia.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County Schools is partnering with Georgia Highlands Medical Services to open a school-based health center at Cumming Elementary School. The Forsyth County Board of Education approved a memorandum of understanding with the facility at its Sept. 20 meeting. Georgia Highlands Medical Services is a private nonprofit community health center founded in 1979. It provides services to over 5,000 children, 90 percent of them low-income. In the past four years, it’s grown from one pediatric provider to four. While an opening date has not been set, the school-based health center at Cumming Elementary School will provide on-site medical and mental health services for students and staff, especially to those who do not have a primary care physician, to promote health and academic success. Sarah Taylor, Forsyth County Schools associate superintendent for
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Forsyth County Schools is partnering with Georgia Highlands Medical Services to open a school-based health center at Cumming Elementary School. student services, said Cumming Elementary School was chosen for the schoolbased health center because of its location and Title I status. The plan is for the school to collect parents’ consent for their student to use the clinic at the start of the year, and when they need to visit the clinic, they can be on the phone with them but won’t need to show up to the school in person. “Having the school-based health center will allow both the students and
the staff to obtain immediate medical care so that they may return to school and work without delay once it’s safe to do so,” Taylor said. “The health center will have the ability to accept individual and family insurance, and if they’re uninsured, the health center will have a very reasonable sliding fee scale.” Forsyth County Schools Health Ser-
See SCHOOL, Page 3
Local governments launch mental health initiatives
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FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Two fire stations built in Forsyth County more than 20 years ago are set to receive much needed upgrades in the coming years, thanks to a $13.8 million construction contract recently approved by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. At their Thursday, Sept. 22, work session, commissioners unanimously approved a contract with Kevin Price Construction to build the new Forsyth County Fire Station 9 and 15, for $13.9 million. After the meeting, Forsyth County Fire Department Division Chief Jason Shivers said the new stations will replace the old structures, using an updated design that will double the size of the stations and provide updated technology and amenities for personnel. “The new stations have a clean, crisp design that nicely blends fire service tradition with modern architecture,” Shivers said. “The same firefighters will still be proudly serving their neighborhoods rapidly, efficiently, and in the caring manner of which is expected. However, the new firehouses will make for a significant improvement in firefighter comfort and health.” The new stations will each include four “double deep apparatus stalls,” independent day and night living quarters, fully functional commercial
See COUNTY, Page 17