OXFORD, Mich. (WXYZ) — Tens of thousands of children have used them. The School-Community Health Alliance of Michigan listed more than 200 school-based or linked health centers in the state.
In Oxford, a community forever grieving the loss of students after a mass shooting in 2021, a plan to open a health center started a serious discussion about how this impacts school processes for identifying threats. Now, plans to open a health clinic at Oxford High School have been canceled for now.
Oxford Community Schools shared with 7 Action News a letter sent home to families. It said in part:
“The majority of our parents of seated students who answered the surveys indicated they were not interested in having the Honor Community Health (HCH) Clinic at Oxford High School. Those results can be viewed on our website.
Preliminary survey results were shared with HCH which contributed to their decision yesterday afternoon to respectfully withdraw the school-based health model proposal for Oxford High School. Additionally, HCH, in keeping with HIPPA obligations, could not legally share with the district the information desired in regard to the mental health of the students they would see as patients.”
7 Action News spoke to parents on both sides of the debate. Some parents said they are disappointed as they know children in need of the resources that a clinic would provide. Other parents said they are glad the decision was made because they are concerned about the impact of medical privacy laws.
“That is a parent’s job to keep their kids healthy,” said Kit Grabowski, a mom of two students. “And this is a potential barrier.”
Grabowski said she is concerned about students having the ability under public health code to get care such as pregnancy or STI tests right in their school. She says it makes it harder for parents to know what is happening.
She says after a student opened fire on students and staff, killing four classmates in 2021, processes were put in place for prevention. She is concerned medical privacy laws controlling the clinic could weaken those protections.
“It was going to be a big mess. Just too much bureaucratic red tape for privacy issues, that would have not been helpful,” Grabowski said.
