Albuquerque Public Schools
Mobile Health Clinic Will Roll Into Three APS Middle Schools
Bernalillo County, federal government are funding the initiative.
A gleaming mobile health clinic – long the dream of county and district officials eager to provide wraparound services for Albuquerque’s young people – is now a reality for three APS middle schools.
A partnership between the Wellness Equity Alliance, Bernalillo County, the ABC Community School Partnership, and Albuquerque Public Schools has resulted in the launch of “Health Yeah!,” an effort that will offer a full range of services, including primary care, mental health support, vaccinations, sports physicals, and prescription services.
Roosevelt, Truman, and McKinley Middle schools will be the first schools served, with the clinic providing the expertise of a nurse practitioner, medical assistant, social worker and community health worker at each stop.
Joined by Tyler Evans, CEO of Wellness Equity Alliance, Bernalillo County Manager Shirley Ragin, and County Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada, a former APS school board member, APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey said the mobile clinic will create a dependable safety net for students at the schools at a time when many families need it most.
“This is such a good program coming together to meet the needs of students,” she said.
A news conference in front of Truman Middle School, hosted by Principal Michelle Armijo, drew about three-dozen guests. Many toured the mobile clinic, which offers a variety of areas from which to provide care.
The Health Yeah! initiative is supported by $1.5 million in recurring funding from Bernalillo County’s Behavioral Health Gross Receipts Tax. U.S. Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury secured a $422,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to further support the initiative.
The idea had been a long time coming: Quezada said he pushed for a mobile health clinic during his time on the Board of Education and continued as a commissioner.
Dr. Blakey called the clinic “a successful investment in children.”