Front row, from left, Yonkers Board of Education President Rosalba Corrado Del Vecchio; City Council Member Deana Robinson; City Council Member Tasha Diaz; Mayor Mike Spano; Saint Joseph’s Medical Center President & CEO Michael J. Spicer; Elizabeth Joglar, Director Ambulatory Services & School Based Health Program; Saint Joseph’s Family Health Center; Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School Principal Elda Perez Mejia; Dr. Mari Iturbe-Ortiz, Saint Joseph’s School Based Health Clinic Pediatrician; Lisette Colon-Collins, Assistant Superintendent for the Yonkers Public Schools; Daniris Burgos, Assistant Principal.
On March 12, Saint Joseph’s Medical Center President & CEO Michael J. Spicer joined with Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and Yonkers Schools Superintendent Aníbal Soler, Jr for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new Saint Joseph’s School Based Health Clinic at the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School.
“We are very proud to celebrate today the opening of our newest health clinic at the Sotomayor School. Since 1989, our school-based health centers have provided free, accessible, high quality health services to high risk children and have become an integral component of the Yonkers health care delivery system,” said Spicer.
“It’s about a village and raising our children, that’s the message we want to send to our community. Thank you to St. Joseph’s Medical Center for your partnership and for practicing behavioral health along with physical health. This is another way to support our families and our students. Healthy children stay in school,” said Mayor Spano.
“Justice Sonia Sotomayor Community School truly embodies the community school model by serving as a hub for our families. We will now see the benefits of integrating education with on-site healthcare and family support services under one roof. Families will be able to see a doctor at our school-based health clinic and meet with counselors for mental health support – all right here at their child’s school, ” said Yonkers Superintendent of Schools Anibal Soler, Jr.
Saint Joseph’s School Based Health Clinics provide a full array of primary health services, including: Diagnosis and treatment of acute and minor health problems, Routine care of children with chronic conditions such as asthma, obesity and diabetes, Complete health histories, Comprehensive physical examinations
· Laboratory testing (hemoglobin, urinalysis, lead screening)
· Immunizations
· Developmental screening
· Mental Health screening and referral services
· Preventive Health counseling
· Dental screening and referral for dental preventive services
Saint Joseph’s operates primary care school-based health clinics in five Yonkers public schools serving student from pre-k to 8th grade.