SBHC Spotlight: Magnolia Elementary SBHC
 
The Magnolia Elementary School Based Health Center has served this Title I school for over 10 years.  Last year, the Magnolia site enrolled 290 children (59% of the school) and conducted 100 visits to students and their family members. Magnolia's SBHC also provides weekly mental health counseling sessions and direct counseling to students.

  

For the 2014-2015 school year, the Magnolia Elementary SBHC has forged a partnership with the newly established Judy Center at Magnolia Elementary. The Judy Center provides early childhood education and support services for children ages 0 to 5 and their families. Judy Center's are specific  to Title I school districts across Maryland with the goal of promoting school readiness for young children and their families. 
This partnership will expand the reach of the Magnolia SBHC into the community with a special focus on children younger than school-age. The SBHC Nurse Practitioner will provide both well child visits and acute visits to Judy Center clients, both children and family members. 

 

In addition to the collaboration with the Judy Center, the Magnolia Elementary SBHC offers two additional programs to advance student school performance and school readiness.  The first is the American Lung Association Open Airways Program 

which teaches and empowers children to take control of their own asthma self-management. This group-based program also has a component that includes parents in their child's asthma control. The second intervention, new this year, is the Magnolia Elementary SBHC's acceptance as a Reach Out and Read site.  Reach Out and Read is a program which prepares children 0 to 5 to succeed in school by partnering with medical professionals who give developmentally-appropriate books to children at their well child visits and advise parents on the importance of reading aloud to children. The program places a special emphasis on children growing up in low-income communities and the children served enter kindergarten with stronger language skills and larger vocabularies.


 

Additional Services Provided by the Magnolia School Based Health Center include:

  • Physical exams 
  • Well-child visits for children ages 6 Months to 5 Years -- including the Reach Out and Read model
  • Acute illness exams and treatment
  • Follow-up medical are
  • Individual and group-based chronic disease management
  • Behavioral health counseling
  • Partnership with the Judy Center at Magnolia 
MASBHC Policy Update

 

MASBHC continues to be very active in shaping public policy in our efforts to support the sustainability and growth of school-based health centers. We are starting this monthly update in the newsletter to make it easier to follow and get involved in our activities.  We have been busy this past summer and early fall with several top MASBHC priorities
  • Streamlining Application Process for SBHCs: MASBHC is working with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) to streamline the current state required application for new SBHCs.
  • Integrating SBHCs into Health Reform Initiatives: MASBHC has been an active voice in health reform discussions.  To promote the role of SBHCs in health reform, MASBHC supported HB 783/SB 717 -Task Force to Study School-Based Health Centers (Delegate Bonnie Cullison/Senator Bill Ferguson) during the 2014 session. Although the legislation was not enacted, MASBHC has continued to be actively involved in promoting the integration of SBHCs into health reform initiatives; and
  • Regulations Review: MASBHC monitors newly proposed regulations and provides feedback to State agencies. Recently, MASBHC provided comments to the Board of Dental Examiners regarding proposed rules for the management of dental practices. MASBHC is also currently reviewing proposed regulations from DHMH regarding Medicaid reimbursement for telehealth.

If you have any questions on or feedback for our public policy work, please contact Donna Behrens at dbehrens@gwu.edu

Howard County Public Schools Introduces Telemedicine Initiative 

Last month, Howard County Public Schools launched the first telemedicine initiative in five school based wellness centers in the state of Maryland. 
This initiative is run by the Howard County Department of Health with funding from the Howard County Government to support telemedicine carts provided by CareClix, a Washington, D.C.- based telehealth service and technology firm. Phelps Luck Elementary School in Columbia, Maryland is the first school in Maryland to receive certification from the Maryland State Department of Education to have telemedicine cart capabilities. The other participating schools in the county - Running Brook Elementary, Bryant Woods Elementary, Talbott Springs Elementary, and Stevens Forest Elementary- will receive their telemedicine carts this month. 

Howard County Public Schools Superintendent Renee A. Foose was quoted as saying, "Learning can't happen unless - and until - students are ready to learn. Telehealth keeps students in class, and helps them feel better sooner so they can focus on instruction. It will be a great boon for all students and families, and especially those with the greatest need."

To read more about this new telemedicine initiative, read MASBHC's latest blog post
Volunteer Opportunity: Jeffers Hill Elementary School Wellness Day 

Action for Healthy Kids 
is looking for volunteers to help out at the Jeffers Hill Elementary School Wellness Day. Jeffers Hill is located in Columbia, MD and they are looking to have people lead groups for 30-50 minute sessions on healthy living and physical fitness. They are in
 need instructors to lead group fitness activities and  presenters to share about healthy living habits to students in grades Kindergarten to 5th grade. The School Wellness Day will be on 
 Friday, October 31 from 9:05-3:15. They are in need of volunteers for any portion of the day! To sign up to volunteer please visit the Action for Healthy Kids registration page
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