Gadsden County school clinics receiving funding to provide free health services to students

GADSDEN COUNTY, Fla. (WCTV) - FIve school clinics in Gadsden County are set to receive funding from Florida State University’s Dance Marathon student fundraiser.

FSU’s Dance Marathon, a part of a national program to support children’s health care, raised over $1 million this spring.

On Monday, a check totaling $598,451 was given to the FSU College of Medicine during a special ceremony. Of that amount, about half of the funds will go toward funding clinics at five public schools in Gadsden County.

Local health professionals say children oftentimes do not have access to health care, and school clinics can help bridge the gap.

“They may not have a provider or the parents would have to take the kids out of school, they would have to take off from work, and take them to their providers or some other health facility when we simply can do it right on campus,” nurse practitioner Myeshia Carroll said.

Students can receive free basic health care services, including sports physicals and required school entry exams, Carroll added.

According to the Florida Department of Health, Gadsden County ranks 64 out of 67 in health care outcomes, and those health disparities are seen often in children.

Alma Littles, the interim dean for the FSU College of Medicine, said she is proud of the hard work FSU students put in to raise the funds. She also said it means a lot to be in a position to support these children because she was once in their shoes.

“So having been in that situation, I understand, I’ve lived it and know what it’s like to not be able to access a physician’s office,” Littles said. “The fact that we’re able to provide services in the very school system that I went through first through twelfth grade is just really special to me.”

The money raised during FSU’s Dance Marathon goes toward supporting UF Health’s Shands Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network.

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