Family Centers, a Fairfield County nonprofit, will celebrate its newest school-based health center opening at Cloonan Middle School in Stamford on Monday. The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a reception and ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 W. North St.
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, Stamford Public Schools Superintendent Winifred Hamilton and other local leaders are expected to join representatives from Family Centers.
“The opening of the Cloonan clinic gives kids living on the West Side of Stamford direct access to necessary medical, mental health and dental services,” said Dennis Torres, director of health care programs at Family Centers, in a statement. “Since many children in town are uninsured or underinsured, the health centers offer a gateway to care they might not otherwise have.”
A federal grant funded renovations to the vacant space previously occupied by the middle school’s industrial arts program. The Connecticut Department of Public Health and Stamford Public Schools provided operating funds.
“The health and well-being of our students plays an important role in their ability to learn,” Hamilton said.
The Cloonan center is the fifth Family Centers clinic serving students in the Stamford school district. There are 14 clinics, including the in-school locations, in Stamford, Greenwich and Darien. Some of the centers serve adults. The services in schools are available to all students regardless of a family’s income or health insurance status.
Family Centers clinics are staffed with nurse practitioners, social workers and dental professionals. They provide medical assessments, physicals, mental health counseling and dental care, among other services.
