The Impact of School-Based Health Services on Access, and Utilization of Health Services, Three Years Post Disaster

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (September 2005), schools in the New Orleans Metropolitan area were under siege.  Total school facilities in two Parishes (Counties) were completely destroyed.  Students and teachers were displaced from their homes and trying to put their lives and their schools back together.  The one Parish with the most schools and communities intact was swamped with displaced and troubled students.

This was the context, with all of its related challenges, within which the school-based health centers (SBHCs) had to be rebuilt and expanded.  The whole process had tremendous complexities, but in many respects, it was also a great opportunity to build a new and better system of care for vulnerable youth at a time when they needed it most.

With the resources provided by a generous grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the SBHC leaders formed School Health Connection and took on the challenge.  The SBHCs would be new sites in new schools, so the circumstances provided a great opportunity to study the impact of SBHCs in addressing the health needs of students- needs that were exacerbated by the hurricane disaster.  I hope you will come to our session and hear about our experiences.

Marsha Broussard, MPH  and Sarah Kohler, MPH, Program Director & Evaluation Coordinator, School Health Connection, Louisianan Public Health Institute