- February 5, 2025
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Volusia County Schools and Florida Hospital have entered into a five-year partnership with a goal to improve student athlete health and career development while minimizing the number of absent students.
The Volusia County School Board approved the agreement with the healthcare provider during a Tuesday, June 19, meeting with representatives from both entities present. Included in the agreement is a $2 million commitment by Florida Hospital and health care services for students at 36 schools with the highest chronic student absenteeism.
Students from those 36 schools will have access to Florida Hospital's eCare urgent care providers to receive consultations for urgent health issues, including pink eye and flu.
“Our goal is to continue to create pathways that allow students to directly connect coursework with industry certifications and work-based learning opportunities to help prepare them for careers in the healthcare industry,” said Kelly Amy, manager of strategic partnerships for Volusia County Schools.
"The chronic absenteeism within our school system will impact their grades, it will impact their literacy, it will impact their ability to graduate and to continue to grow." David Ottati, regional CEO of the Florida Hospital Central Florida Division - North Region
According to Lindsay Cashio, Florida Hospital Volusia and Flagler assistant director of communications, nearly 17% of Volusia County students were chronically absent from school last year. Superintendent of Schools Tom Russell said the goal is to decrease chronic absenteeism across Volusia County by 10%, a change he believes could significantly impact students’ education and future success.
"The chronic absenteeism within our school system will impact their grades, it will impact their literacy, it will impact their ability to graduate and to continue to grow," David Ottati, regional CEO of the Florida Hospital Central Florida Division - North Region, said. "We want to make sure we can do everything we can to improve chronic absenteeism, whether it is health related or another other relation."
There are plans to have coordinated care for student athletes, which would include a certified athletic trainer to serve as a school liaison. Care for student athletes includes plans for improved concussion protocols. The partnership is also being set up as a way to help students pursue careers in the healthcare industry as well as provide assistance to students whose families cannot afford health care.
"The essence of this partnership is centered on our local children," Cashio said. "With more than 63,000 students across 78 schools, a vast number of families in our community will be positively impacted by this collaboration."
However, not everyone approved of the partnership. During Tuesday's meeting, several members of the Halifax Health community spoke about their opposition to the contract and how it would affect Halifax and the students the medical provider works with.
Jim Terry, Halifax's service line administrator for behavioral health, said he was concerned about the impact this could have on childcare services. According to Terry, last year Halifax Health saw 894 children in the school system.
"The way the agreement reads and the concern that I have is the impact it could have on the on our ability to see those children and families," Terry said.
Mike Dyer, Volusia County Schools general counsel, said that the agreement would not limit or interfere with the Halifax Behavioral Center, which offers a day program for students. Dyer said that Halifax is one of five mental health providers that provide services directly at Volusia schools and that the agreement would not limit or interfere with that relationship.
Joe Petrock, executive director of the Halifax Health Foundation, voiced frustration that there had not been enough discussion about the partnership prior to the Tuesday meeting. Petrock himself did not find out about the meeting until the night before. Petrock and other Halifax employees shared similar concerns about how the partnership would not only leave a questionable outcome for the Halifax-student services but limit career opportunities for students as well.
"We need healthy competition, we need everyone to support the school sytem for the betterment," Petrock said. "We all want to leave it better than we found it. That takes a community to nurture our young people to work together to offer them all partnerships and relationships, not a relationship from one."
