Take a tour of Bellingham Schools’ new student health center at Options High School
Bellingham Public Schools is officially welcoming the district’s first behavioral and medical health center available to students this year.
Construction on the facility — built at Options High School — began more than a year ago in January of 2024. The first phase, which was designed to provide a space for one-on-one mental health therapy and support groups offered by Compass Health, was completed in April of last year.
Completing the second phase this year added a medical services facility staffed by Sea Mar Community Health Centers, which will begin serving students March 5.
“It’s great to see some amazing partners coming together to support our students,” Bellingham Public Schools Superintendent Greg Baker told The Herald. “That’s the essence of the Bellingham Promise — that it takes all of us leaning in to do all we can to help our youth succeed .... the best long-term investment we can make to our community.”
School-based health centers (SBHCs) provide access to comprehensive primary care, including:
- Annual doctor visits
- Sports physicals
- Immunizations
- Medications
- Illness and injury
- Sexual and reproductive health
- Behavioral health
- Resource connections
The Options behavioral health center offers mental health support in a variety of ways, including spaces to reset and relax. The space includes a quiet room, comfortable seating, interactive art opportunities and a private room for one-on-one counseling. The space also doubles as a resource center providing students with basic needs including food, clothing and hygiene products — something Options High School has been offering for years.
Since data collection began in January, the school has documented about 375 visits to the mental health space, according to Options High School principal Katie Jones.
“It’s open throughout the day, so if a student is feeling overwhelmed or dysregulated, they can ask their teacher for a note to spend time in the space,” Jones said.
Options High School student Petra (whose last name we are omitting for privacy), who participated in homeschooling before coming to Options, said the space was instrumental in supporting that transition.
“My very first day of school, I tried to go to the cafeteria but it was so loud and so scary. I remembered that quiet place in the back of the building,” Petra said. “For my first three months here, I ate lunch in this room every day. It’s nice to have a quiet space and a place to relax,” Petra said.
SBHCs are shown to increase healthcare accessibility for students, which ultimately increase retention and graduation rates, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
“School-based health centers have been shown to improve school attendance, and they provide the most benefit to students who experience barriers to accessing health care, such as transportation and family work schedules,” Baker previously told The Herald.
Petra is diagnosed with Type I diabetes. She told The Herald that having access to a medical center at Options is reassuring.
“Knowing I have a facility here that I could have appointments at or get blood drawn and not have to go somewhere else is really incredible. It takes a lot of stress off,” Petra said.
SBHCs have seen rapid growth across Washington in recent years, with the number almost doubling since 2017. There are currently more than 70 SBHC sites, sponsored by more than 25 healthcare agencies, in over 30 school districts across the state, according to the Washington School-Based Health Alliance.
With the Options health center now fully open, Whatcom County has three of those operational SBHCs. One is located at Lummi Nation School, sponsored by the Lummi Tribal Health Clinic, and another newly opened health center is operational at Mount Baker High School.
The number of SBHCs has grown across the country from 1,135 in 1998 to about 3,900 today, according to the national School-Based Health Alliance.
“We are excited to be a part of a growing movement across the state to provide essential health services on school campuses,” Baker previously told The Herald. “An on-site health center will improve the mental and physical health of youth, reduce barriers and increase access to care. The Options community has long advocated for a school-based health center so that health and mental health care could happen on site as part of wraparound services.”
Although the new health center at Options is the first-of-its-kind in the district, Bellingham Public Schools has been providing space for partner mental health counseling services such as Compass Health on-site at its schools for many years.
The construction of the center was entirely funded by public grants. No general education funds were used to build the health center.
