School-Based Health Care Project

The School-Based Health Care Project, funded by the James and Judith K. Dimon Foundation, is a research initiative on the financial sustainability and nationwide expansion of school-based health centers (SBHCs). There are approximately 2,000 SBHCs in or near schools across the country that provide nearly two million of America’s most economically disadvantaged children and adolescents with high quality primary and preventive health care that is both readily-available and affordable. FWI has been conducting case studies on eight exemplary SBHCs in five different states, analyzing each center’s design-model, financial infrastructure and/or relationship with the goals of the state in which they reside. The goals of the School-Based Health Care Project are to:

• identify best practices and common barriers among the centers;
• evaluate current challenges with insurance reimbursement;
• identify key policies and promising practices among the various states and within the federal government; and,
• ascertain how SBHCs across the country can achieve financial self-sustainability.

The data collected will inform a potential demonstration project that will increase the number of school-based health care centers that provide invaluable services to our nation’s most vulnerable population: America’s low-income children.

National School-Based Health Care Convention
June 26-29, 2011

Every year the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) brings together more than 500 child and adolescent health providers and advocates for the National School-Based Health Care Convention.

From June 26-29, 2011 at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile, thought leaders and key stakeholders will engage in a deeper dialogue about how the partnerships between SBHCs and community schools can create stronger communities and healthier, more successful youth.

On the first day of the convention, Senior Vice President Lois Backon and Program Associate Alanna Beckman will be presenting an overview of the key findings from FWI’s School-Based Health Care Project. Ms. Backon and Ms. Beckman will provide an in-depth analysis of the financial sustainability, financing, and monetization of school-based health care, and highlight best practices, common barriers, and key state and federal policies appertaining to the implementation and expansion of centers across the country.

The 2011 theme: School-based health care and the community: A partnership that works highlights our focus on collaborations between school-based health centers (SBHCs) and community schools.

NASBHC is proud to partner with the Coalition for Community Schools, Illinois Coalition for School Health Centers, Ohio School Based Health Care Association, and the School-Community Health Alliance of Michigan.

For more information, to view a preliminary program, and to register online visit: www.nasbhc.org/convention. Register by May 20, 2011 for a special early bird discount.