Joy S. Grady

Communities across the nation recently observed National School-Based Health Center Awareness Month spotlighting more than 1,900 school-based health centers (SBHCs) during the month of February for their work to provide access to primary medical care, mental health services, preventive care, social services, and youth development to nearly two million children and adolescents. 

Right here in our community we have a valuable tool for improving our young people's chances at living a healthy life while thriving both socially and academically - our school-based health centers at Ashley High School, New Hanover High School, and Mary S. Mosley Performance Learning Center along with our main facility, a school linked health center, on Oleander Drive. Our school based health centers are open everyday that school is in session and our main facility offers extended hours of operation for the convenience of adolescents and their families, and is open year-round.   

Research has shown that school-based health centers are not only the lowest cost, most effective model for delivering health care to students - they improve academic success.  SBHCs reduce the utilization of emergency rooms, improve health outcomes, and correlate with school attendance and graduation.

Poor academic outcomes and high dropout rates are major concerns of educators, policy makers, and parents alike. Supporters of the SBHC model believe that improving student health is integral to student performance and success. 

There are more than fifty school-based health centers in North Carolina. Yet because of uncertainties in the state budget and a lack of sustainable funding, students could potentially lose access to vital health and mental health services, affecting their ability to graduate and to have a successful future.  

Let's work together to make sure the SBHCs in our community survive and thrive!

For more facts about SBHCs and their benefits, click the following links 

•  A Snapshot of School-Based Health Centers 
•  School- Based Health Centers in Education Reform 
•  School-Based Health Centers and Academic Success   

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  Joy S. Grady
  WHAT Executive Director     

       

At the 26th annual Institute for Emerging Issues Forum on Healthcare, held in Raleigh, a consistent theme was the importance of prevention. Keynote speaker Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN put it wisely when he said "It (prevention) is probably the single biggest thing in terms of cutting healthcare costs and creating a more healthy America" (Click here to see his interview with Tim Boyum of News 14 Carolina). School-based health centers play an integral role in prevention, especially during the teenage years when lifelong behavior patterns are established.      

Many of the services provided at our centers are important forms of prevention. In addition to providing primary medical care services, WHAT offers prevention programs that address obesity and nutrition, tobacco use and cessation, and early intervention and treatment for substance abuse. These programs provide adolescents with the knowledge and skills to make healthier choices leading to longer, healthier lives. WHAT seeks to treat the whole teen - mind, body and spirit.

If you would like to learn more about school-based health care, please visit the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care's website at: www.nasbhc.org.