Colorado children are accessing healthcare steps away from the classroom thanks to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's School-Based Health Center program, according to a Sept. 12 news release.
School-Based Health Centers funded by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment provide services to children and youth who attend the school and are within the school district.
Services include:
- Well-child exams
- Sick visits
- Health screenings
- Immunizations
- Mental health and other counseling
- Substance use screening
- Oral health screening
- Reproductive health services
- Classroom/school-wide health education or promotion activities
The program currently funds 54 operating school-based centers and four planning sites throughout Colorado. Additionally, the beginning of the school year sees a spike in pediatric care, according to Kendra Nagey, the director of Mountain Family Health Center's five school-based clinics.
"We do a lot of well-child visits, so just those annual periodic visits to check in to see how everybody is doing, check on growth and development. And with older patients, doing sports physicals," Ms. Nagey said.
In addition to providing critical care to the state's youngest patients, the School-Based Health Center program also partners with other state agencies and grant programs to expand the services available in school-based centers.