Brainerd High School may get its own health clinic, thanks to the vision of one of its most determined 11th-grade students.
As a member of the Infant Mortality Public Awareness Campaign for Tennessee, or Impact, Janelle Tonge visited a similar clinic inside a high-poverty high school last year in New York City and thought it would be a perfect fit for Brainerd.
“Sex and violence are issues here at Brainerd. … Right now there’s not even a school nurse,” she said.
She imagined the clinic providing services, such as contraceptive counseling to students and, maybe one day, the community.
Miss Tonge’s story was made public at a news conference Friday at Brainerd, where officials from Girls Inc., the local nonprofit that runs Impact, announced a $165,000 grant from BlueCross Blueshield of Tennessee’s Health Foundation. The money will be used to continue the statewide program that first inspired the 17-year-old.