ashe

I missed that on their website. Didn't think they had that much info on it

I removed several posts that were off topic and/or trolling.

Basking, according to their website, yes.

Only, I wasn't asking if the clinic makes financial sense. No free or under insurer clinic would ever make fiscal sense. I was only curious if they do try to recoup some costs by billing Medicaid or insurance if patients do have some type of coverage.

The Health Center is open August – May and closed for the summer (June & July).
Top Dog Clinic also offers "after hours" for uninsured or under-insured school employees and their spouses. Those days are Tuesday and Thursday, 3:00 – 6:00 pm.

They have it made better then the barneys and the teachers. I think the above says that its free to uninsured and under insured employees. And where was this clinic when the little girl committed suicide last year?

That makes me furious that a religious leader would get on the board for an obvious strong arm move aimed at pushing his religion on others. It would certainly be better that kids were taught abstinence first, but we have to consider the relationships of middle school aged students with their parents, if the parents even have a relationship with their kids. Look at the number of fractured and dysfunctional homes in Ashe County and then take away contraception. Yes, what we need is more 13 and 14 year old mothers! That clinic is an outstanding institution in an area where children are not getting the needed medical care to grow up healthy and confident, and should be funded on all levels. The effectiveness of the clinic is evident in the amount of absences that have been lessened, as well as, creating confidence due to more healthful living. This clinic takes up a great deal of slack that parents won't and don't deal with! Keep the clinic. Be proud of the clinic. Get special interests out of the clinic. Fund the clinic to its fullest potential.

Dog and Basking, there was some limited controversy when the clinic was first opened regarding the availability of contraceptives for the students, that quickly died down once David Blackburn from the ministerial association became part of the voluntary board providing oversight and fund raising for the clinic. Since that time the clinic has quietly served the students and staff of the Middle School. The clinic was almost always mentioned as a positive during the Middle School's initial national recognition days when Nancy Reeves and Bobby Ashley were leading the school. As one of the top 5 middle schools in the country, at that time, the visiting teams of schools form across the country were always shown the clinic and the impact it had had on attendance and time away from class.

http://www.apphealth.com/pa...dog-clinic. It is so secret that it has its own page on the Appalachian District Health page since that is who operates it. And no, budget info isn't there, but make a phone call and find out.

Yes, I have heard of the clinic for several years. Additionally, the BOE website lists five school nurse .employees. None of this is "secret". It only takes a person that is aware enough to follow the budget talks the county and the BOE have every year. They are open to the public. Get out of your moms basement, take off your tin hat and quit looking for a conspiracy behind every tree. Maybe once you see what is outside your moms basement you will make the decision to grow up.

So you have never heard of it either. Do any of these articles have any information on any of the questions we have asked?

I spent less than one minute on this subject and with a simple search found five articles about this "secret clinic" in the Ashe Mountain Times.

Who does this secret clinic serve? Such as just children at the middle school, all schools in the county?

There has been no clear picture of actually who is financing this clinic or who controls and directs it. I am sure if the school budget was available to see we might find it. And dont tell me to go to the boe and get it. In this day and age there is no excuse for it not to be published unless they want to keep the tax payers beat down and in the dark.

Does anyone know if this clinic bills insurance and Medicaid for any patients that have coverage? Or is it entirely free?

Like somebody else pointed out it has been open for about 10 years. I now vaguely remember it being in the paper when it was started.

Why have none of us ever heard of this clinic before. Why is it so hidden if it is so great? One would think that this day of the internet that the school system would have it front and center. The only way I found it is a blind stagger.

If this clinic is beneficial to the county and has been a positive influence on the school system, then there is no need to try to justify the expense. Whenever someone tries to justify a cost by writing off the money with "oh, it's a grant any way" sounds like they don't believe in whatever we are paying for, but they just want to get money from further up the chain like trying to redistribute wealth.

The top dog clinic is a partnership between the schools and the health department. Largely grant and donation funded it has demonstrated remarkable results since its inception over 10 years ago in reducing the rate of absenteeism at the middle school, partial days out of school for healthcare appointments, trip to the Emergency Department for asthma attacks etc. The building was initially built with donations and grant funds from the Federal Government and operated as the original Mountain Family Care Center, a partnership between AMH, the Health District, School Board and the original Ashe County Health Council. Over time, once the grant for operating funds expired, the primary clinic was relocated to the AMH campus, where is continues to operate now. The Health District and School Board continued the school based health center as it operates today.

Unfortunately, I think the clinic is a necessity at this point. When my son was at the middle school a few years ago I got to see it in operation first hand and talk to some of the staff. Some of the kids they serve have never been to a dentist, they don't receive physicals and checkups like they should and they aren't taught at home about good nutrition, hygiene and taking care of themselves in general. Many would have to suffer through colds, steph and other minor illnesses without the clinic available. The kids shouldn't suffer for the lack of education, funds or concern of their parents.

Not dismissing it. Just stating where the money comes from if you want to track it.