So far, there are only three school-based health clinics in Kansas. All are operated by GraceMed Health Clinic, a leading safety-net provider here.
According to Chief Executive Officer David Sanford, the first school clinic was started at Lincoln Elementary School in 1995 as a collaboration among the Wichita school district, the University of Kansas Medical Center and a private organization called Communities in Schools.
“Those three entities really saw a significant need that the families living around Lincoln Elementary had in terms of access to health care,” Sanford said. “GraceMed was kind of a Johnny-come-lately.”
GraceMed took over the clinic with the other groups’ blessings after it became a federally designated safety net clinic and was able to provide services at the school and be reimbursed by the Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. That helped provide the operation a more reliable funding base.
Not all school-based health clinics around the country are affiliated with federally designated safety net clinics. Advocates for school clinics say health reform bills pending in Congress would extend Medicaid/CHIP reimbursements to them regardless and likely add at least 200 more clinics nationwide.
Reform bills would mean more clinics in schools
The Lincoln Elementary clinic still operates from the double-wide trailer parked on the school grounds as part of the initial collaborative effort.
Sanborn said he would love to see passage of provisions in the health reform bill that would allow that facility to be replaced with something newer and roomier.
“It’s about at the end of its shelf life,” he said.
The U.S. House and U.S. Senate versions of reform each would include federal grant dollars for school clinic infrastructure.
Crammed into the trailer are exam rooms for physicals and dental work.
GraceMed operates a second clinic near but not on the grounds of Cloud Elementary in northwest Wichita. That clinic serves the students and also their families and others from the neighborhood.
“The needs in that community (neighborhood) are more than we can meet, I can tell you that,” Sanford said.
GraceMed recently established a new school-based clinic in the Gordon Parks Academy in Northeast Wichita, which is attached to the school building. And the organization is negotiating with the school district for a possible fourth clinic in a new school still in the design stage. Depending which version of health reform legislation is passed, there could be up to $50 million a year for each of the next four years to help build and equip school-based clinics.
GraceMed already has applied for federal grant money made available through the economic stimulus bill that became law in February. But it is far from certain that money will come through.
“We obviously would welcome any kinds of support to help build and equip school-based clinics,” Sanford said. “We have a federal grant application in right now that is supposed to acted on in the next 60 or 90 days and if that were approved there would be money to restore two of our three school clinics and build another. But that is very competitive. There are only 100 awards and more than 800 applications. If the health care reform bill had provisions for applying for equipment or start-up funds, that would be a tremendous asset.”
Sanford said school-based clinics focus heavily on prevention, which he believes should be a fundamental part of health reform.
“When you hear this overall discussion about health reform,” he said, “the focus should come back to prevention. One of the strongest selling points for a school-based clinic is that you’re there on site, helping provide those services so children don’t develop cavities or early signs of diabetes, making sure families understand the needs of good nutrition and exercise.
“There’s just a lot of very positive things about school-based clinics that would save our society millions and millions of dollars downstream, if we can prevent those children developing some of the disease patterns that their parents and grandparents have.”
-Mike Shields is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. He can be reached at mshields@khi.org or at 785-233-5443, ext. 123.