Back to school: Local school district prioritizes mental health, new facility underway
Director of Behavioral Health and Wellness at the Dublin City School District, Tonia Spaulding, says the district views mental health as a top priority.
DUBLIN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The new school year is underway and parent and caregivers need to check in with their students.
Chief Medical Officer for the Commercial Line of United Health Care in Georgia and Alabama, Stephen Palte, says to take note if your child has a change in behavior.
“How are they interacting with their peers? You know, they suddenly do not want to interact with their social circle. That’s a concern,” says Palte. “If they’re not sleeping well, suddenly they’re not sleeping well. They may not feel like eating. They may you may notice the eating habits may may change.”
Palte offers advice for parents and caregivers.
“If there are any concerns on this ahead, allowing the children to voice those concerns, and then scheduling an appointment with the pediatrician. That’s very important because they they can offer some very good advice, both to the parents and to the students,” says Palte.
Director of Behavioral Health and Wellness at the Dublin City School District, Tonia Spaulding, says the district views mental health as a top priority.
“We make house calls. We don’t just talk to the parent in the school,” says Spaulding. “We say, hey, can we come to your house and see? Because we need to get in their environment and see what’s happening in that environment?”
Spaulding says the district noticed a need for mental health resources during the pandemic and received multiple grants to open a new facility. The new facility, Irish Healthcare, is set to open this fall.
“Here we are five years later. Now we’re working on a behavioral school based health center,” says Spaulding. “So that we can serve our kids here in Dublin City Schools through this facility with a nurse practitioner. You know, they can get their immunizations or physicals if something’s going on with them. We’re also going to have the telehealth piece.”
The facility will open to students, but there are plans to expand.
“We’re going to work our way up to being able to see the staff. And then we’re going to work our way up to us being able to serve the community,” says Spaulding.
