A pilot program will start this upcoming school year for the Greene County School District.

The School Board approved a mental health nurse practitioner position. Superintendent Tim Christensen says he was approached by Special Needs Counselor Kyle Kinne and a mental health nurse practitioner from Carroll about providing the services to students in the district. The program would allow students and parents to meet with the nurse practitioner, based on referrals, remotely via a computer with the Telehealth system. Christensen explains the main advantage of having these services available.

“But the great thing about the nurse practitioner in this aspect, they have the ability to prescribe medication. Right now none of our counselors (and) no doctors really in Greene County are psychiatrists to that point that can prescribe medication.”

Christensen says a benefit for the parents is that they won’t have to drive to Ames or Des Moines to get consultation. He sees this as a way to get increased mental health services to children.

“The more opportunities that we can have to address the mental health issue, and ensure that we are getting it addressed, I think is great. We need to start thinking outside of the box in education, in life and everything. We can’t continue to do things the same way that we have in the past. (In) Rural Iowa, we do not have the same resources that they have in Des Moines, Ames, and the urban areas. We need to look at things differently.”

The initial plan is to have the nurse practitioner available one half day per week, which includes not only patient but also consultation time. The estimated cost is over $20,000. Christensen says the district would be responsible for about $10,000 and he is applying for grants to help off-set that cost. He adds that Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency has committed $4,050 toward the program.