The School-Based Health Initiative supports quality, convenient health care for students and their families in a safe, familiar place. We support partnerships between schools and health care providers to create school-based health services in schools that need them most.
Providing health services in school settings helps kids miss less school and supports better academic outcomes. Untreated health issues impact students in all areas of their lives, including the classroom. Untreated mental illness, dental infections, and medical illnesses such as asthma commonly cause excessive absences, classroom behavioral challenges, and poor academic performance. The ripple effect of these issues can extend into critical school metrics such as attendance and graduation rates. Addressing these health issues can help students reach their full academic potential and achieve greater personal success.
School-based health centers provide various health services, including primary care, behavioral health, and dental care. They are flexible and can adapt to each community’s needs.
This initiative has supported the startup of school-based health centers serving 87 of the state’s highest-need schools.
Visit our Grant Library to learn more about these projects.
SPOTLIGHT
Health Centers Collaborate to Provide Services in the Helena School District
Through a unique partnership, PureView Health Center and Helena Indian Alliance are collaborating to bring school-based health services to the Helena School District.
The Helena School District consists of 18 schools that serve about 2,500 students. Because many schools have a considerable need for health services, the health centers recognized that they could work collaboratively rather than competitively to provide student services.
We gave implementation grants to the school district and each health center to support a new partnership to create school-based health services. We also provided their staff with one-on-one support in developing relationships and technical assistance to plan for the school-based health centers and get services up and running.
In 2023, Helena Alliance began providing services at Helena High School and C.R. Anderson Middle School. PureView Health Center began operating in Capital High School and the Project for Alternative Learning. The health centers have clinics at each site, providing mental health services for students and school staff. Over the first four months of operations, these new clinics served 118 patients in four schools, totaling 729 visits.
There is a true commitment by both organizations to support the schools at every level. They have done non-reimbursable mental health screenings because they know the students need care. They collaborate and work together on solutions. This partnership has been such a gift to the district and a highlight to my career.
Lona Carter, Helena School District Director of Student Health Services & Special Education
Our Support
We provide grants to develop new and expand existing school-based health programs. Funding is available for both health partners and school districts. All funding under this initiative is by invitation only.
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Contact
If you have a question about this initiative, please email our program team.