Dayton Public Schools has a new mobile health unit, bringing asthma care and more to students throughout the district.
The 42-foot-long bus features two exam rooms, one is handicap accessible with a motorized lift. Students pay no fee to use this resource.
DPS leaders and staff introduced the new bus, which replaces an older model, during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 29.
Licensed nurse Susan Parks manages it. She’ll coordinate with the nurse at Dayton schools to arrange appointments. Initially, the focus is on one health condition.
"Asthma accounts for many of our school absences," said Parks.
According to Parks a number of factors contribute to this, ranging from students who can’t afford medication, to those who don’t properly take it, to others who have not been correctly diagnosed. "We do an asthma control test, which consists mostly of questions, and we ask them about their asthma symptoms," Parks said. "We also, on the mobile health unit, review the correct way to use an inhaler. Because if you don't use your inhaler correctly, it's not going to get down in the lungs as it should."
Parks said eventually, other medical services will be provided.
DPS Assistant Superintendent Lisa Minor spearheaded this project. According to Minor, the mobile unit will help students in two ways: for wellness and student education.
"The Dayton Public Schools also offers allied health education throughout the city. So those students will also be able to get work-based learning on our mobile health unit. So it’s a health unit to educate the next generation of medical professionals in the workforce," Minor said.
According to Minor, DPS used COVID relief dollars to purchase and equip the mobile health unit. The district has about 13,000 students.