162960 Challenges of Recovering and Improving the School Based Health Care Services

Wednesday, November 7, 2007: 9:15 AM

Marsha Broussard, MPH , Louisiana Public Health Institute, New Orleans, LA
     
Metropolitan New Orleans has been reeling in it rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. There were major losses in community infrastructure including utilities, housing, schools, local government, and health care. These issues are only one aspect of the environmental challenges that surrounds the Metro area's School Based Health Center (SBHC) recovery and expansion project. The other major environmental condition relates to the reorganization of New Orleans public schools, that began just prior to Katrina, and that was propelled in its aftermath. This current organizational array of schools complicates the communications and decision making process that is critical to SBHC planning and development.

The School Health Connection (SHC) program was created in March of 2006 through a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant. SHC will steer the re-placement and expansion of SBHCs in the Metropolitan New Orleans area including Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Bernard Parishes. The presentation will identify the opportunities and barriers associated with implementing this project.

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the unique adolescent health needs that have been exacerbated with the dissolution of the health delivery system including lack of primary care, increased demand for behavioral and mental health. 2. Describe the primary care access improvement opportunities associated with development of a robust and integrated school-based health center system in the Metro area. These opportunities are amplified by a health care redesign initiative that is widely occurring concurrently to improve outcomes. 3. Describe the complexities of implementing a new SBHC system in a post-disaster environment and approaches that have facilitated our progress. For example, space issues, competing priorities, and lack of coordination. 4. Describe the SHC evaluation and research objectives regarding the impact of SBHCs on quality of life for adolescents, improvements in post-disaster behavioral health issues; improved access to care; and education enhancing behaviors such as decreased absenteeism, improved peer relationships; and improved personal health behaviors.

Keywords: School-Based Health Care, Access to Health Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Health and Mental Health Needs after Hurricane Katrina
See more of: Community Health Planning and Policy Development