CARBONDALE - As a high school senior, Lilith Reuter-Yuill has spent quite a bit of time in Terrier Care, the health center at Carbondale Community High School.

"It used to be so small," Reuter-Yuill said standing outside the recently expanded center. "It's so much bigger now. It's amazing."

Not only did Terrier Care more than double its facility, from 620 to 1350 square feet, but this school year, the high school health center expanded its services to include the Carbondale Elementary School District. It is one of the state's 40 school health centers operating to provide convenient and affordable health care to students.

"It is absolutely a blessing to have in our school," said Reuter-Yuill, one of the high school's nearly 1,200 students. On an average day, the center sees about 40 students, said George O'Neill, the executive director of Shawnee Health Service, the center's health care provider.

O'Neill was joined by several dozen people last week for an open house to celebrate the expansion, which cost about $250,000. He also thanked the center's private donors, The Fralish Family Foundation, Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation and Southern Illinois Healthcare, which operates Memorial Hospital of Carbondale and other area health facilities.

Since Terrier Care started in March 2005, administrators realized the need to expand the services provided to students, faculty, staff and their immediate families, said Connie Favreau, assistant director and operating officer for Shawnee Health Service.

Last year, Favreau said they applied for a grant through the Illinois Children's Health Care Foundation. By December, they heard word money was on the way and began construction in May after school let out. The expanded center reopened Aug. 8, she said.

The center, located within the high school, now has a waiting room, a resting area, two exam rooms, a counseling room, a group counseling room, an office and a laboratory area. That's a pretty hefty expansion compared to the old center that consisted of one exam room and an office area, said Malyna Dodd, the center's certified medical assistant.

Dodd is one of the four people hired by the provider to staff the center. Melanie Nelson, the school's registered nurse, said compared to her last school nursing job in Champaign, this facility is a tremendous blessing. The Champaign facility she worked in last year was one room crowded with her desk and a folding lawn chair as a cot.

"But this isn't about us," she said. "We're here for the kids."

O'Neill said the center provides health services to about 40 people a day, 79 percent students and 21 percent faculty and staff. Dodd and Nelson said they expect the center's use to increase with the addition of the elementary school and plans to provide transportation to the center are in the works.

Barbara Levine, president of Carbondale Community High School District 165 board, said the recent expansion is helping school officials meet their goal of keeping students healthy.

"The success of Terrier Care is beyond our wildest dreams," Levine said at the open house. "It's the perfect example of what tremendous success can be accomplished when a number of entities work together."

bethany.krajelis@thesouthern.com

351-5816

Terrier Care Basics:

Who is Eligible? All students, faculty, Staff and their immediate families within Carbondale School Distticts No. 95 and 165

What services are available? Besides medical services, Terrier Care provides dental services through Adolescent Health Center.

When is it open? During scheduled school days, Terrier Care is open from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Where is it located? Terrier Care is located on the west side of the high school in the J wing.

How much does it cost? Terrier Care fees are similar to those of other area health care providers. Students must be registered, but services will be provided regardless of a family's ability to pay

For more information or to learn how to register for Terrier Care, call 457-3371 or visit http://www.cchs165.jacksn.k12.il.us/TerrierCare/TerrierCare.htm