A Communiy Partnership That Provides A Safty Net for School Children

This case study used interviews and program documents to gain insight into how a local health district school health program (SHP) partnered with a largest urban school district to develop an innovative comprehensive school based health center (SBHC) program.  In 2010, the health district was forced to redesign its financially threatened SHP. Using Affordable Care Act (ACA) funding, the health district redesigned its traditional school nurse program to the SBHC model. Since 2012, it increased from 3 to 10 SBHC sites.  Because of success with achieving notable health outcomes in preventive care, additional partnerships were added.  The partnerships include other health service provider such as complete dental and vision care. Through these innovative partnerships, the SHP and the school district were able to provide desired safety net health services to its most vulnerable students and were able to save the program.   Reported outcomes include: increases in school district immunization compliance, medical referral completion, students that receive recommended preventive physical exams and other health screenings, better management of students with asthma, diabetes, and behavioral/mental health conditions. The administrators report that by using ACA funding and partnering to develop better program. This case is an example of a positive social change. The implications are that it illuminates the benefits and power of partnerships.  This SBHCs program partnership has enhance access to preventive health care for school children and it could influence the development of new partnerships, funding, reimbursement, restructuring or replication of the program, and more research on the subject.