Children who get sick often miss a lot of school and struggle academically when they make it to class.

Parents who work during the day often can't take their sick children to a doctor, especially if the family lacks health insurance.

That leads to a vicious cycle in which children fall behind in school and parents are forced to seek emergency-room care for such relatively minor ailments as ear infections or pink eye. Washington Elementary School and the Lancaster General health system want to stop that cycle by providing medical care for students where they spend most of their day — in school.

The school and health system want to open a clinic that would treat students for asthma, pink eye, strep throat and other common ailments inside the South Ann Street school.

The clinic would be staffed 2½ days a week by a nurse practitioner or physician's assistant and a nurse, who also would order prescriptions, administer immunizations and complete physicals on the school's 651 students.

The services would be provided free to any student registered at the school, beginning in the 2008-09 school year.

"The cost of not providing the care is too great for us not to do it," Mary Steffy, Lancaster General manager of community health and wellness programs, said of the proposal.

Steffy and Washington principal Janette Hewitt described the clinic proposal Thursday to members of the education committee of the School District of Lancaster board.

Board members supported the idea but said they want the finance committee to determine whether the district can afford the clinic's estimated $50,000 annual operating cost.

SDL would provide the space for the clinic and pay the medical staff. Lancaster General would provide all medical equipment and pay for prescriptions and medical tests conducted on students.

Before a student could be treated at the clinic, the pupil and his or her parents would have to fill out a permission slip and a medical history form.

If approved, the clinic would be the third at an SDL elementary school. Fulton has operated a medical clinic since 1994, and Carter & MacRae's opened in 2003. Combined, those two clinics conducted more than 1,600 medical examinations last year, Steffy said.

At Washington, Hewitt said, the school's part-time nurse has handled 1,200 visits from students already this school year. About 300 of the pupils were sent home.

With flu season in full swing, Washington is now sending about 10 sick students home each day, Hewitt said.

"We're really ready right now for a clinic and in need of a clinic," she said.

About 98 percent of Washington students are economically disadvantaged, and many have no health insurance.

If they receive any medical care at all, it's often in an emergency room, after their parents have returned home from work.

"I can't tell you how often I hear a parent say, 'I'll take my child to the E.R. after work,' " Annette Rosa-Pabon, Washington's community school director, said.

At least one clinic staff member would be bilingual to serve the school's population, which is 72 percent Latino.

In addition to examining and treating students and ordering prescriptions, clinic staff members would help parents apply for state-funded health insurance and find a family doctor.

Lancaster General would provide liability insurance for the clinic and oversee its operation.

The finance committee is expected to consider the clinic proposal next month.

E-mail: bwallace@lnpnews.com