Chapter 25Expanding the Knowledge and Vision of School-Based Health Care: Engaging the Education Community

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The school-based health center (SBHC) model can be described as a marriage between a school district and a health care facility interested in providing easily accessible health care to underserved students. Each partner has a role in planning, organizing, operating, evaluating, and supporting the SBHC. It is important to develop these partnerships early in the process of creating an SBHC program given the complexity of the partnership, which requires a mutual understanding of the roles and responsibilities associated with the establishment and operation of an SBHC. Both partners need to be engaged throughout the process to increase the effectiveness of the potential SBHC program in their community. In 2009, the New York State Coalition for School-Based Health Care (referred to hereafter as the Coalition) rolled out a new programmatic initiative, the School-Based Health Centers Education and Assessment Project, as a strategic approach to educate school districts and charter school administrators in Western and Central New York on the SBHC model in the state. The program consisted of a toolkit, a series of customized informational presentations to school administrators, and consultation to school districts interested in assessing their readiness to develop a school-based health program. The Coalition's goal was to ensure that high-need school districts located within this region would have the resources necessary to understand and take advantage of the school-based health care model and thus become a more informed and prepared partner in the establishment of school-based health care programs.