CAMPBELL — In March of 2024, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced $64 million in funding for the Appalachian Children’s Initiative to improve access to health care in 36 communities across 20 Appalachian counties in Ohio.

As a result of this grant, 11 new school-based health centers are now operating, with 17 more, including one at Campbell City Schools, expected to open over the next year. The new school-based health centers are projected to reach nearly 375,000 youth, families and community members.

Mahoning County is considered part of Appalachia Ohio as designated by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for federal grant eligibility based on historical, economical and cultural factors.

Campbell City Schools was granted $10,504,763 from the Appalachian Children’s Initiative and the building of their 55,000-square-foot wellness center is underway. Campbell Superintendent Mathew Bowen estimates completion to be August of 2026.

Campbell’s grant was the largest one awarded in the state.

The building will be located on the grounds of its K-6 school, adjacent to the region’s only STEM school, the Northeast Ohio IMPACT Academy, and the Community Literacy Workforce and Cultural Center (CLWCC).

The wellness center will be an example of school health that serves the whole person by focusing on the social determinants of health such as income, education level, neighborhood safety and affordable housing, availability of food, community strength and access to primary care, race and ethnicity, immigration status and cultural practices.

The center will make food available through an on-site food pantry, greenhouse and composting facility, provide pediatric primary care and pediatric mental health counseling, dental and vision care, and developmentally appropriate learning in accordance with Ohio’s early learning standards, and workforce development for staff, students and the broader community.

The school-based health center is partnering with the following local organizations to provide access to food, health care services, childcare and workforce services.

• Food access partners: United Way of Youngstown and Mahoning Valley and the Mahoning County Green Team.

• Health care partners: Akron Children’s and Sight for All United.

• Childcare partner: Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio.

“Many of these children don’t have a medical home or access to important primary care services,” said Mary Kay Irwin, senior director of school health services for Nationwide Children’s. “These new school-based health centers are bringing essential, timely care to the students where they are and will help them be healthier and as a result perform better in the classroom.”

Assisting with implementation for the Campbell City Schools Wellness Center and other projects across Appalachia Ohio is Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Nationwide Children’s operates 20 school-based primary care centers in central Ohio and has partnered with the state of Ohio, health care providers, nonprofit funders, school nurses and school districts across the state to support the development of school-based health programs.

“Schools are at the heart of these communities in Appalachian Ohio,” said Randy Leite, executive director of the Appalachian Children Coalition. “For many children and families, the lack of access to local health care services leads to a number of negative health and educational outcomes. The school-based centers and services will provide care that is so desperately needed. By connecting schools with health care partners nearby, we are improving access to essential care for thousands of children and their families.”