Begin with a visionary group of veterans from the SBHC field. Add in a generous helping of passion for healthy kids and adolescents. Mix in providers, administrators, evaluators, and managers from four states and three time zones. Sprinkle in a spirit of collaboration and boundless energy. Finally, add in funding from a CHIPRA demonstration grant and….VOILA! You have the School-based Health Center Improvement Project!
School-based health centers have a unique ability to provide quality, convenient, accessible and youth-focused health care. Yet, few recognize the critical role that SBHCs play in the health care delivery system, particularly in serving children with special health care needs. Recognizing this, a team of experienced SBHC providers and administrators pursued an opportunity to improve upon and showcase amazing work done by SBHCs in Colorado and New Mexico. In 2010, our team was awarded a five-year Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) demonstration grant by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In this workshop, we will share the trials and triumphs of developing a multi-phase, multi-state demonstration project with SBHCs, the School-based Health Center Improvement Project (SHCIP). Our project aims to highlight the ability of SBHCs to address the health care needs of children and youth and to expand on the understanding of how school-based health centers contribute to the overall health care system.
Specifically, workshop presenters will share our plans for accomplishing our overall Project goals:
1. Improve the quality of care delivered in SBHCs
The primary mechanism for supporting positive change in our partner SBHCs is continuous quality improvement , aimed at improving preventive care and screening for chronic conditions. In the workshop, we’ll share our quality improvement plan, share our new electronic student health questionnaire and talk about how we plan to use technology to engage youth and assist providers.
2. Integrate SBHCs into the medical home approach
Much of what SBHCs are already doing aligns with the medical home approach. Yet, there are still some stumbling blocks to integrating this approach in a consistent manner. Our workshop will include an overview of our plans to help SBHCs understand the medical home approach, assess their current level of “medical home-ness," and increase their readiness to become certified as medical homes.
3. Actively engage youth in their own health care
You can’t improve health outcomes among children and youth without involving them in their own health care. Since youth engagement is so important, we are developing a new survey tool to understand youths’ satisfaction with the care they receive at the SBHC and to measure youths’ health literacy. We call it the Youth Assessment of School Health Involvement -- or YASHI and we are excited to share the purpose, development, and plans for YASHIs implementation with you.
How will we know if we’re successful?
For those of you who love logic models and spreadsheets, we’ll share our plans for evaluating the project across 17 sites in two states. It’s no easy task, but our team members will walk you through the ins and outs of this complex evaluation effort.
Join the conversation!
Our team is excited to share what we’re doing and to learn from you! We hope the workshop will stimulate conversations around the role of SBHCs in the health care delivery system, the fit between SBHCs and the medical home approach, and strategies and successes towards engaging youth as full partners in their health and health care.
Sarah Nickels
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