SHERBURNE – In 2012, Bassett Healthcare Network’s School-Based Health Program expects to handle over 26,000 student visits at its 19 school-based health centers (SBHCs). The majority of those visits will be for primary care, but 30 percent will be mental health visits. That statistic may be surprising to some, and it’s one Chief of Pediatrics Dr. Philip Heavner shared with Congressman Richard Hanna recently when he visited Bassett’s school-based health centers in the Sherburne-Earlville School District. Last year, Bassett’s school-based health (SBH) staff handled 4,000 visits in the Sherburne-Earlville schools.
“Providing health care in school means that more children are getting care than otherwise might simply because it’s so easily accessed,” explains Dr. Heavner. “If SBH wasn’t available, there would be children who wouldn’t get primary care as often as they need it and many who wouldn’t get mental health care at all. We know this because we’ve been providing school-based health for decades, and many of the families that utilize our services are under or uninsured and others simply find it challenging to get to a doctor in this rural region.”
The SBHCs provide annual physical examinations, immunizations, diagnosis and treatment of short and long term illnesses, health education, mental health services, and dental care at many locations. SBH services are provided by nurse practitioners, physician assistants and licensed clinical social workers with the supervision of a Bassett physician. The SBHC team also includes a licensed practical nurse, a medical office assistant and, in many cases, a registered dental hygienist.
Heavner also explained to Congressman Hanna that school-based health can play an important role in fighting the obesity epidemic that’s plaguing the nation’s youth. “Calorie poisoning—overeating—is the nutritional issue for our children today. School-based health centers are in a great position to positively influence children’s eating habits, and we work very hard to get children to a healthy body mass index.”
Families do not pay out-of-pocket for services provided by SBHC. If the student has insurance, the SBHC bills the student’s health insurance. If the student does not have insurance, SBH may help enroll the student in Child Health Plus or Children’s Medicaid.
Bassett’s 19 school-based health centers are located in school districts spread across four counties: Otsego, Delaware, Chenango and Schoharie. The newest SBHC opened earlier this year at Unadilla Valley Central School, a move that returned pediatric primary care to the district after the previous center closed last June.