Getting health care for your child can be complicated. Many doctors only offer
appointments during the school day, and their offices might be far from school. To
see the doctor, your child might have to miss school and you might have to leave work
— which isn't always an option.
School-based health centers make going to the doctor as simple as walking down
the hall.
Staffed by health care workers like nurses and doctors, school-based health centers
provide a range of services to meet kids' and teens' health care needs. Services can
include check-ups,
lab tests, prescriptions,
counseling, and regular visits for problems like asthma
and diabetes.
About 2,300 school-based health clinics operate in 49 states and Washington D.C.,
serving more than 2 million students in preschool through 12th grade. Centers usually
are inside a school building or right next door. Some school-based health centers
serve more than one school or even a whole school district.
Most school-based health centers are run by a local health care group, such as
a community health center, hospital, or health department. A few are run by the school
district itself. Centers often get money from charities and the government so they
can give care to families who cannot afford to pay.
You can find out if your child's school has a health center by contacting your
child's teacher or the school office. Most school-based health centers also let parents
know about their services by sending details when the student enrolls through school
newsletters or websites or at parent-teacher events like back-to-school
nights.
Why Have Health Centers at Schools?
When students aren't feeling well, they have a harder time learning. They may miss
class a lot — and when they are in class, they might have trouble paying attention.
Giving kids and teens access to health care at school puts them in a better position
to learn.
Students who use school-based health centers benefit in many ways. They spend more
time in class because they tend to be sick less often and don't have to take as much
time off school to get to appointments. According to data from the School-Based
Health Alliance, school-based health centers:
- help students do better in school
- increase high school graduation rates
- decrease school discipline cases
Studies show that teens, who might resist going to a doctor, are more willing to
get help for problems like depression
and weight issues
at a school-based health center. This might be because they see the health center's
staff at school each day, which helps build trust.