|
The Governor’s FY’05 budget completely eliminates and discontinues the line item (4590-0250) that supports all school health services, including school-based health centers. School-based health centers provide essential care for some of the most vulnerable and needy children in the Commonwealth. Those children whose only access point to health care is often through the services offered at school.
School-Based Health Centers Save Money
When a School-Based Health Center is available to students:
- Emergency room visits drop by 18%.
- Overnight hospital stays for children with asthma drop 75 – 80%.
- Cost per patient at school-based health centers are 20 – 51% lower than in outpatient clinics.
School Based Health Centers Keep Children in School
An intensive one-month statewide survey showed that among participating sites (34), in 2226 visits, 2063 students were seen, treated, and sent back to class. The 163 (7%) students sent home suffered from severe asthma attacks; injuries, mental health or diagnosed medical problems need further attention.
Children Who Use School-Based Health Centers Receive More Health Care
- Teens are 10 times more likely to get mental health care and substance abuse treatment services.
- Vaccination coverage increases 15-40%.
- Children are nearly one and a half times more likely to receive dental care.
- Children with asthma gain an average of 3 school days per year.
- In 2002, approximately 60% of Massachusetts’s students who use School-based health centers were covered by Medicaid or were uninsured.
For more information, please contact:
Massachusetts Coalition of School-Based Health Centers at 617-426-2225.
|
