Governor Josh Stein and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) have announced $1.25 million in federal funding, distributed through the North Carolina Rural Health Transformation Program, to expand essential health services in school-based health centers across rural areas of the state. This investment aims to provide enhanced preventive and acute health care, offer nutrition support, and address behavioral health needs for students.
Among the five organizations receiving this critical funding is the Appalachian District Health Department, which serves Watauga, Ashe, Avery, and Alleghany counties. Other recipients include Blue Ridge Community Health Services, First Health of the Carolinas, Mountain Community Health Partnership, and Wilson County Health Department.
Governor Stein emphasized the impact of the investment, stating it would bring "critical health care directly to students in rural North Carolina." He noted the particular significance for young people grappling with mental health challenges, suggesting that having these resources available at school can make a substantial difference. Data indicates that nearly 20% of public school students utilize mental health services when they are accessible within schools.
Currently, approximately 30,000 children and youth receive health care from around 90 school-based health centers statewide. This new funding is designed to broaden access in rural communities by establishing services in additional locations, leveraging telehealth technologies, deploying mobile units, and increasing the capacity of existing rural facilities.
NCDHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai highlighted the department’s goal to build a coordinated system that improves access to care for all residents. Sangvai stressed the importance of reaching individuals where they are, especially children in their school environments. He added that this investment is crucial for removing barriers to care in rural areas, thereby ensuring more children receive the necessary resources and services.
This allocation is part of the broader North Carolina Rural Health Transformation Program, a statewide initiative that secured more than $213 million in federal funding in its inaugural year from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The program's overarching goal is to tackle longstanding challenges in rural health care access and delivery, with projections of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal investment over the next five years.
Maggie Woods, Director of the North Carolina Rural Health Transformation Program, underscored the vital role of school-based health centers. Woods described these centers as providing "vital access to comprehensive, coordinated and preventive health care" through direct services, programs, or referrals to other primary care providers. She also expressed gratitude for local, state, and federal partners who share a commitment to ensuring children can access the care they need within their communities.
Applicants eligible for this funding were required to meet specific criteria, including holding an active grant agreement with the NCDHHS Division of Child and Family Well-Being, operating a School Health Center Program, and serving areas identified with limited access to local mental or physical health providers.
State officials have acknowledged that North Carolina faces significant funding losses due to the federal reconciliation law H.R. 1. These losses include an estimated nearly $50 billion in federal funds to the state’s Medicaid program over the next decade, as well as crucial funding to hospitals across the state. NCDHHS has affirmed its commitment to advocating for additional funding to bolster the state’s rural health care system.
