We Need More Health Clinics at Schools

After more than two years of disrupted lessons, it's clear that schools are more than just places to learn, they are vital safe places for students to build friendship, receive meals and talk to trusted adults. They can be more than just schools.

More than 3000 school-based health centers offer primary and preventive care for students who live in medically underserved areas. Flu, asthma, diabetes and other common ailments are treated by the staff at the centers. Mental health care and reproductive health care are provided by some of them. These clinics, which are often partnerships between school districts and local community health organizations and hospitals, bring services to children who need them most and who have the greatest risk of falling behind in school.

With lost years of education, it's time for government at all levels to recognize that all children need accessible and affordable healthcare. As lawmakers draw up budgets, reallocate funds and begin a new school year, existing clinics should be able to operate without budgetary fears, more dollars should go to school-based clinics, and more community partners should be involved in efforts to bring health care to the kids who lack it.

The president and CEO of the School-Based Health Alliance says that healthy children learn better. There are more than 20 million children in the US who don't have enough access to health care. Many of their parents can't take them to appointments because of work. Even if they are able to get away from work, the kids miss a lot of school. The health center in the school facility will allow them to do what they need to when they return to class. It's easier to reach students who are anxious about visiting doctors' offices or parents who don't like outside providers when schools are among the most trusted institutions in the community.

Children's physical well-being and educational outcomes can be improved by delivering health care through schools. The risk of hospitalization for asthma went down after health centers opened in public schools, according to a 2005 study. Clinics in schools can increase vaccination rates among students, reduce mental health problems, and boost contraceptive use. Kids who use such centers are more likely to be promoted to the next grade and less likely to get suspended and are more prepared for college. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention task force recently recommended school-based health centers as a key strategy to advance health equity because of all of the evidence.

Most school communities don't have them. $5 million was appropriated by Congress to support school-based health centers. The program received more than 300 applications. Less than half of the US states fund school health centers. Clinics can bill Medicaid and insurance for students who have coverage, but they need stable funding to hire good staff.

During the Pandemic, many centers had to close temporarily or permanently. More than 60 percent of the centers that responded to the survey started offering telehealth services between 2020 and 2021. Many were able to give the vaccine to people who didn't have access to it. It's more important than ever that kids get the care they need. School-based health centers should be expanded to all students.

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