SUPT. CARVALHO ANNOUNCES PLAN TO PLACE URGENT CARE CENTERS IN UNDERUTILIZED MIAMI-DADE SCHOOLS

MIAMI - Superintendent of Schools Alberto M. Carvalho announced a plan today that would place urgent care facilities in underutilized Miami-Dade County schools. The announcement was made at a health care symposium at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

“These urgent care centers will bring a health care solution to the underserved areas of our community, providing health care free of charge to our employees and extending care to the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Carvalho. “This is another example of efficiency through innovation.”

Last year, in a search to reduce health care benefit costs to the District, the school system negotiated with its labor unions to raise emergency room co-payments for employees. The purpose of this strategy was to encourage employees to save money by going to clinics or urgent care facilities.

However, a zip-code analysis of the county found that there was no alternative to hospitals in three areas of the county: Miami Gardens, Liberty City and Goulds.  There also are many underutilized schools located in these same areas.

As Carvalho explained, the next logical step is to explore the possibility of having companies run urgent care facilities in county schools, in which health care would be made available for District employees and the community.

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