Medical services could be coming to Rosston

ROSSTON – Access to improved health services could become easier in Rosston.

At the January meeting of the Nevada School Board Thursday, John Walker, with RNP Health Solution, told the board plans are in the works to bring doctors and specialists to the area. One of these doctors is Dr. Mimo Lemdja, currently in private practice in Camden.

Dr. Lemdja said she was trained in New York but came to Fayetteville for her specialist training in family medicine. She talked about being recruited and the need for medical care in rural areas and went to Camden. She’s been in private practice the last seven or eight years.

Rene Porchia, Walker said, has a pipeline to UAMS and can get people to come to Rosston. Porchia talked about coming from a small town and knowing the difficulty of getting adequate medical care in a timely manner. She pointed out there are times when people in rural areas have to choose between buying food or taking care of their health because of financial concerns.

While getting doctors and medical personnel to come to the area won’t be a problem, Walker said, having somewhere for them to work from may be. “We want to provide complete service to the community because a lot of people don’t have insurance.” The goal, he said, is to help people get insurance through the pipeline so they can be served at no cost. He said help will be given to get people wi-fi and devices to sign up for insurance as well as using telehealth. “We want to cut expenses out.”

Having medical services in the community, he added, would bring economic benefits as well. The district, he said, will need to help by informing the community and teachers, letting them know Dr. Lemdja is here. Walker pointed out the community will be responsible for finding a location for the clinic.

Prior to the board meeting a public hearing was held concerning the district’s facilities plan for 2025-27. JoAnne Wooldridge, with the South Central Cooperative in Camden, was on hand to discuss the plan with the board. She pointed out districts must submit plans to the state on its plans for the next six years. Districts, she added, can apply for the partnership program and get financial assistance from the state. The Nevada District, she continued, would be funded at 26 percent, meaning the district would have to pay 26 percent of the cost while the state pays 74 percent.

The proposed improvements are a new roof for the entire school building along with a new HVAC system as well. This, she said, will require drawings and specifications, which need to be detailed as the state looks for reasons to deny plans due to financial limitations. The plans, she said, need to be as accurate and detailed as possible, adding it’s in the district’s favor to be in the partnership program.

During the meeting, the board approved the plans and will apply for the partnership program. The panel also approved a resolution to apply for a five-year waiver on the start date for schools. Currently, the earliest school can start is Aug. 19, but with a waiver, the start date could be moved back a week to Aug. 12. Superintendent Roy McCoy said this would give the district options in the event of bad weather because having the waiver doesn’t mean it has to be used. However, applications can only be made once every five years at the start of the plan and if it’s not applied for now, the district would have to wait five years to do so.

Because of the flooding and ice, McCoy said, the district will have to make up days. He said Feb. 26, March 8, April 1, and May 3 and 24 are being looked at. The district will have to make sure there are no imbalances in the number of days in the third and fourth quarters before a final decision is made.

The final order of business was the board extending McCoy’s contract another year.