In 2019, psychiatric nurse Sue Gehling founded the Classroom Clinic out of frustration with the lack of access to mental health services in rural areas.
Nearly four years later, with the support of the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board of Directors, the company will soon scale.
Sue Gering, founder of Classroom Clinic.
Earlier this month, the IEDA Board announced it would approve innovation funding to support three startups in Iowa. One of them involves Carol’s classroom clinic. In their news release, the company was awarded a $100,000 demonstration fund loan “for market planning and entry activities, and for key personnel.”
According to its website, Classroom Clinic uses telemedicine and other related technologies to provide rural school districts with access to children’s mental health services.
For Goering, children’s mental health is her passion. While she worked at the town’s clinic, Gehling often heard stories about how poor children’s mental health was affecting their lives.
“It was kind of overwhelming to hear what my family was telling me when I was seeing them,” Goering said. “Just the disappointment and despair my family was going through trying to navigate the system. [and] access care.
While listening to the school district, Goering said they were discussing the same issues and realized that the school was also facing a mental health crisis.
One night, Goering realized that “Calvary will not come” to rural Iowa, at least not in the near future.
“If I don’t help my patients, who will?” Gehling said.
Rather than wait for large state agencies to come along, Goering believes in creating change by reaching out and connecting with others and ultimately creating their own systems to deal with problems. I said it might be easier.
“I know this problem can be solved at the local level. I know there are a lot of smart and interested people out there,” Goering said. “Let’s sit down and discuss how to create a solution that works. That’s basically what I did.”
Gehling founded the Classroom Clinic before the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone to live and work more remotely. Gehring said telemedicine services were already commonplace in healthcare, but were more unique in education.
As more teachers and students turn to Zoom for learning, Gering says it’s naturally becoming more receptive.
“I think it’s really helped us in terms of adopting what we’re trying to do because it’s greatly improved acceptance and usability for educators and school staff,” Gehling said.
School administrators, not just in Iowa but nationally, cited the mental health crisis as their top concern, according to Gering. A mental health crisis existed before the pandemic, but Gehring said the virus has exacerbated it.
However, Gering said COVID-19 has brought to the fore the need for schools to have access to mental health support and services for their students.
“You’re thinking about education. It should be the number one priority, the most important issue facing them, but it’s not. It shows the breadth and magnitude of this issue.” said Goering.
Annie Smith, principal of Patong Chaudhan Community School District, says she has used their services since the business began.
Smith said she connected with Goering at the conference. At the time, she was already aware of the concept and how it could benefit the school district.
“We shared that this concept was exactly what we needed and that it’s like a hole in rural education and the need is growing,” Smith said. “It sounded really too good to be a real fit.”
In rural Iowa, mental health services are often very limited for students, Smith said, which can create another layer of problems for families. Often, families have to drive to big cities to see specialists.
The Classroom Clinic’s services eliminate transportation problems, keep parents out of work and kids out of school, Smith said.
“It’s been a big lifesaver here,” Smith said. “I can’t say enough about how lucky I am to have had that service and that it’s the key to the big piece that was missing here and it’s truly phenomenal.”
Goering said he would use the money to hire a chief financial officer for the Classroom Clinic. In this new role, Göring is a senior in the business he hopes to round out the leadership team, he said.
The rest of the money will be used for marketing, Gering said. She also plans to develop additional informational materials for educators and school staff to show what strategies can be used in the classroom.
Over the next few years, Gehling said he’s looking to expand the Classroom Clinic significantly. Gehring said recently that he is building strategic relationships with Medicaid managed care organizations in other local states, with Nebraska identified as the first state in which they will expand.
As a message to local parents whose children are struggling, Goering said that by being vocal about the implementation of potential resources, we can change the school district’s system.
Providing information to school administrators helps parents understand the importance of the issue.
“Everybody can make a difference, everyone can be an advocate,” Goering said. “I didn’t realize how much of a voice you had until you actually spoke up and people listened to you. Then you can make a difference.” So don’t underestimate the power parents have.”
