Kahuku High and Intermediate School’s isolation along the North Shore used to mean that students would miss school to get routine medical and dental care in town, or forgo care altogether.

But beginning this school year, the campus is now home to the state’s first school-based health center — a full-service center exclusively serving the rural school’s 1,900 students.

"There isn’t a great number of physicians and not a lot of dentists between Haleiwa and Kaneohe. So our young people had to drive a great distance to get medical and dental attention," said Lea Albert, complex area superintendent for the Castle-Kahuku Complex.

The 900-square-foot facility is open during school hours, with medical and dental staff providing everything from vaccinations and immunizations to teeth cleanings and fluoride treatments.

The center is a collaboration between the school and Koolauloa Health Center, which runs two community health and wellness centers in the area. Koolauloa Health Center operates it, with four employees on campus: a physician’s assistant, medical assistant, dentist and dental assistant. The school’s student health aide also works out of the facility.

A needs assessment for the area prompted Koolauloa Health Center CEO Benjamin Pettus to apply for a federal grant to establish the school site.

"The assessment showed the students out here, especially the younger kids, because there’s no dentist in this area, there’s a real lack of access to services. The numbers were so high for tooth decay and lack of immunizations," said Oreta Tupola, chief operations officer for Koolauloa Health Center. "Absenteeism was a big issue, too, for seeking health care."

Koolauloa Health Center was awarded a $500,000 grant in 2011 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with funding from President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. A total of $109 million in grants has been awarded nationwide in the past two years for school based health center sites in medically underserved areas.

The Kahuku site is one of nearly 2,000 such centers nationwide, but the first in Hawaii, according to the School-Based Health Alliance, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that advocates for school-based health care. (Lanai Community Health Center was also awarded a $500,000 grant and is in the planning stages for a center on Lanai.)

The D.C. organization says school-based health centers reduce health inequities and improve health outcomes for underserved youth. It argues that school settings are appropriate because they increase access to high-quality, culturally competent and comprehensive care.

On average, 35 students take advantage of services at the Kahuku center, which school officials are trying to increase. Parents need to sign consent forms for their child to receive services.

"We see a lot of students before and after school and during lunch," Tupola said. "Now we’re working on trying to encourage scheduled appointments."

Albert, the complex area superintendent, said, "The advantage of having this center on campus is that students don’t miss school. They may miss some class time, but not full days."

Students aren’t turned away if they can’t pay for services.

"It’s operated as a regular health center.We take all insurance and bill them as if they were coming to see a doctor at one of our other sites,"Tupola said. "We have grants to cover the under- and uninsured."

The center has also helped address medical emergencies, including recently treating a student for heart palpitations.

"It takes (city Emergency Medical Services) a while to get to the area since ambulances are dispatched from Kaneohe or Wahiawa," Tupola said.

The center is also a convenience for student athletes at Kahuku, where 80 percent of the student body plays on one or more of the school’s 50 sports teams. Annual physicals can now be handled on campus.

Tupola said she’s been in talks with other schools across the state that are interested in setting up their own facilities.

"The folks operating the center are really vested in the school community. Some are Kahuku graduates, coming back to give back," Albert said. "They have a vision, which I share, to find ways to serve even more students and families."