Retired Widenmann Elementary School Principal MaBella Gonzales visits an exam room named in her honor in the school's new health center. Gonzales retired last year after 11 years as the school's principal.
In May, United Way gathered with community leaders from the North Vallejo Health Collaborative to celebrate the grand opening of a children’s health center at Vallejo’s Elsa Widenmann Elementary School. United Way provided a $100,000 grant to support the clinic. The grant is one of our many investments in Community Schools, which bring essential services to families and students on school campuses, leveraging them as community hubs.
Before the launch, the only school-based health center in Solano County was located at Pennycook Elementary School in east Vallejo.
“Children who are in poor health have a difficult time achieving in the classroom. By offering health services to families where their children attend school, the Health Center at Widenmann Elementary makes it easier and much more convenient for parents and caregivers to ensure children receive the care they need, so they can stay healthy and focus on school work,” said Aimee Durfee, United Way’s Vice President of Community Investments for the North Bay region.
The new health center — funded by grants from United Way, SH Cowell, McKesson, and Kaiser, as well as in-kind support from Vallejo Unified School District and a host of other local agencies — makes the vision for a second school-based health center in Solano County a reality.
The clinic hopes to serve 250 children during its first year. Services are available to students of the Vallejo City Unified School District and their siblings who are uninsured or under-insured. For more information call (707) 556-8921, extension 56549.
Widenmann students enjoy the celebration
Services delivered through the health center include:
- Immunizations
- Regular physicals, sports physicals
- Sick childcare and treatment
- Lab services
- Health and prevention education
- Dental screenings
- Health insurance enrollment
- Referrals to community-support agencies
Read the Times-Herald newspaper article about the clinic’s grand opening.
The North Vallejo Collaborative is a collaboration of agencies that support and/or provide services through the health center to students and families. Those agencies include:
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