School-based health centers
[2] Most SBHCs report that the majority of their student population is eligible for the National School Lunch program, a common indicator of low socioeconomic status.
[3] In 1894, New York City officials initiated the first school health program in the U.S.[4] Its purpose was to assess and, if needed, exclude children with contagious diseases from the classroom.
President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty in the mid-1960s is credited with bringing into focus the significance of health issues among impoverished school-age children.
[5] The enactment of Medicaid in 1965 was indicative of a perception in the public policy community that there was a need to develop programs in service of better health care for low-income individuals, including children.
[6] He assigned a nurse practitioner to work on site in an elementary school to deliver primary medical care to enrollees.
[16][17] Since the late 1990s, the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) has conducted a nationwide census of individual centers tri-annually, every 3 years.
[19] In response to these issues, in recent years SBHCs have begun requiring parents to sign written consents for their children to receive the full array of services the centers provide.
Most facilities have an advisory board consisting of community representatives, parents, youth, and family organizations to provide planning and oversight.
[24] In July 2011, $95 million was awarded to 278 school-based health center programs nationwide, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act(PPACA).
Access to care: Children with the greatest unmet need, including uninsured students, benefit most from SBHC services.
[26][27] SBHCs appear to have a significant ability to reduce health care access disparities among African Americans and disabled students.
[32] Children living with asthma benefit greatly from school-based health center services, as evidenced by fewer emergency room visits and reduced activity restriction.
[34] Research has also shown SBHCs to be effective in working with adolescents who demonstrate depressive symptoms, use substances, and engage in sexual activity.
