Successful Grants -- School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs)
In the medically underserved neighborhoods in which VNA Foundation focuses its efforts, most families lack adequate health insurance. As a result, children frequently have poor immunization compliance rates, adults experience poor management of chronic conditions and both groups lack adequate access to health care and preventive and educational health services.
For several years we have believed that School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs)
were promising vehicles to address these health shortfalls. Under the SBHC
model, on-site nursing staff provide a variety of health information and
education services, along with direct services like immunizations and sick
care.
It was our hope that by forging partnerships between schools and communities, the SBHCs could bring at-risk children (and, through the provision of health education and referral services, their families) into a more coordinated system of health services. We felt that SBHCs were well-positioned for maximum access to, and impact on, their target populations.
We are pleased to report that, at least in VNA Foundation experience, SBHCs work and work well. Over the last three years, SBHCs as a whole were the most consistently successful of our grants in meeting outcome measures and demonstrating positive impact. Notable reductions in ER visits by asthma patients, substantial increases in immunization rates and well-attended health education and information events were achieved.
VNA Updates
Recipient of the 2007 Wilmer Shields Rich Gold Award for excellence in communications sponsored by the Council on Foundations.
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