"It's an awesome resource to be able to offer the children and families of E.K. Powe," said Patterson, who saw the need for a clinic at his Ninth Street school after referring his students to a similar clinic at nearby George Watts Elementary School. "When children feel better, attendance will improve and achievement will improve."

The clinic is an example of a successful partnership between Duke and Durham Public Schools, Patterson said.

Duke's Division of Family Medicine will provide care for E.K. Powe students when the school is closed. Durham Public Schools provided the services of Marsha Lovell, who will serve as the clinic's office manager, and renovated the clinic.

Duke's Division of Community Health operates three other wellness centers for the Durham Public Schools: at George Watts and Glenn School, both elementary schools, and at Southern High School. Both Watts and Powe are in the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership, which focuses on the 12 neighborhoods closest to campus and the seven public schools that serve those neighborhoods.

"We're delighted to be able to offer medical services to the children of E.K. Powe and pleased to extend the wellness center to include mental health services," said Susan Yaggy, chief of the Division of Community Health, a division of the Duke Department of Community and Family Medicine. "It's wonderful to work in partnership with Durham Public Schools and bring needed services into neighborhoods and schools."

Robin Kirk, an E.K. Powe parent and co-chair of the school's Latino Family Committee, expressed gratitude for the clinic.

"Strong support like this from Duke for a school like Powe underscores a commitment not only to the students here, but to the parents and the community," Kirk said. "So many of the families at Powe are struggling and often cannot afford decent health care. I'm hopeful this will help us earlier identify when children are having problems with hearing and seeing."

Though the clinic will be an asset for the school's low-income families, it will actually serve the needs of all parents, regardless of income, Kirk said.

"We're all facing the new health care universe and it can take awhile to see a doctor you know," Kirk said. "We are going to be able to build personal relationships with the staff. If your child has a chronic condition such as diabetes, or has an injury at school, your life as a parent will be better because you'll be able to get an immediate evaluation of your child."

In addition to treating children for physical ailments at the clinic, the wellness center will provide mental health services through the Center for Child and Family Health. The Center for Child and Family Health is a collaborative effort involving Duke, North Carolina Central University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and specializes in serving children who have been exposed to trauma

The Center for Child and Family Health staff at the wellness center will connect children with other mental health issues to other mental health providers. The primary mental health provider serving E.K. Powe will be Edna Goldstaub, a licensed clinical social worker, under the clinical supervision of Karen O'Donnell, a psychologist.

The clinic will charge for its services, billing a student's insurer or family and assisting those who need to apply for reduced charges. No child will be denied service based on ability to pay.

"Duke has let us know it's firmly behind this project and is going to look to find ways that it can continue," Patterson said.