141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

290930
School health services: Innovative funding strategies

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Martha Dewey Bergren, DNS RN NCSN FNASN FASHA , University of Illinois-Chicago College of Nursing, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL
Alexandra Schaible, MHS , Healthy Schools Campaign, Chicago, IL
Schools are often at a significant disadvantage compared to acute care and primary care facilities in eligibility for school health services financing. The numbers of children attending school every day with chronic health care and medically fragile conditions has risen logarithmically over the last 30 years. Yet care that is reimbursable in a health care facility is often not reimbursable or minimally reimbursable if provided in a school. Yet much of the care provided in school is mandated by the Individual with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A review of innovative funding strategies that have been successfully implemented by school districts across the country was conducted. School districts have maximized available funding for providing needed and mandated school health services through taxes, Medicaid reimbursement, third party billing, community benefit dollars for acute care facilities and grants. Those strategies will be described and suggestions for seeking similar funding opportunities will be described.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related nursing
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Explain barriers and dilemmas in funding school health services Identify several innovative funding strategies for providing school health services

Keywords: School Health, Financing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I'm a doctorally prepared nurse and school nursing content expert (fellow in both NANS and ASHA) with multiple peer-reviewed publications / national presentations. I've presented on current and innovative school health services funding at the national level for over 2 years. I reserached the issue while in school nursing practice when I learned one of my students was going to cost the school district 1.3 Million dollars just for nursing services from Pre-K - 12.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.