CHILLICOTHE — Chillicothe students can now get health care without leaving school grounds. Adena Health has opened the Cavalier Care Clinic on the Chillicothe High School and Middle School campus, a school-based clinic dedicated Oct. 6 that serves both students and staff.
The clinic offers preventive care, immunizations, physicals, mental health support and treatment for chronic conditions. School and health officials say putting those services on campus should cut missed class time and remove two common barriers for families: finding transportation and fitting appointments around work and school schedules.
Interim Superintendent Kathy Payne said many Chillicothe students do not have consistent health care, and she expects the clinic to change that. Adena President and CEO Kathi Edrington said the health system wants care to be convenient and close to home, available where people need it.
The Chillicothe clinic builds on more than two decades of Adena partnerships with schools across central and southern Ohio. What started as athletic training support has grown into a school-based program serving more than 25,000 students and 4,000 staff members in 12 districts. Chillicothe students interested in health careers also get hands-on exposure through the district’s existing AIM partnership with Adena, which includes shadowing and simulation lab time at Adena Regional Medical Center, and AIM students helped cut the ribbon on the new clinic.
Grant money helped Adena launch five new school-based clinics in all, covering the Pickaway-Ross Career and Technology Center and the Chillicothe, Adena, Huntington and Union-Scioto districts, and also expanded the reach of Adena’s Mobile Clinic. The work was backed by a 2024 Appalachian Children’s Health Initiative grant and a $408,404 assistance award shared by federal and state sources. Families can find program details at Adena.org/SchoolCare.