Northern Kentucky Health Department
School-Based Health Centers
School-Based Health Centers are a
collaborative effort between the Health Department, local boards of health and
local boards of education.
Purpose
The School-Based Health
Centers connect children to a health care provider at their school. This
decreases the likelihood of the child missing school in order to visit a doctor
for services like immunizations and well-child exams.
School-Based Health Centers are not
intended to replace the child’s health care provider. Services provided in the
schools can treat anything from a cut received on the playground to tuberculosis
screenings while lessening the time children have to spend outside the classroom
for doctor’s visits.
When the needs of the child are more
serious, the School-Based Health Centers refer the child to a primary care
physician, optometrist, dentist, registered dietitian or to other Health
Department services.
Services
The following
services are provided through the School-Based Health Centers:
·
School physicals
·
Immunizations
·
Well-child examinations
·
Assessment, evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of minor acute illnesses such as
sore throats and ear aches (not available in Walton-Verona)
·
Education about health, nutrition, safety, growth and development and dental
care
·
Tobacco
education
·
Hygiene
classes
·
Screenings for
scoliosis
·
Dental
varnishes
Eligibility
·
All
students are eligible for services regardless of income. To enroll in the
program, the parents must complete a health history for the child, as well as a
permission form
Benefits
According to The
Health Foundation of Greater
Cincinnati’s 2005 report “A Prescription to Success,”
·
For every $1
spent on school-based health care there was a social benefit of $2.
·
Parents of
children utilizing school-based health care had a reduction in lost income since
they did not have to miss work for their child to receive medical care. In
Greater Cincinnati, this benefit was calculated to save more than $500,000 for
half-days of work not taken off by parents, and more than $1 million for
full-full days of work not taken off by parents in order to take their children
to a health care provider.
More information
For
more information on the School-Based Health Centers, please call
859.341.4264, Ext. 2039.
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