By John Schlitt, National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC)
Banner Health System and uninsured children in Phoenix, Arizona recently received good news from the federal government. Word came in December that Banner was among a select number of programs across the country that competed successfully for Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) federal school-based health care capital and construction fund. Banner delivers free care to more than 3,000 students every year through its three school-based health centers (SBHCs).
The centerpiece of the $375,000 award is a mobile health unit that will enable Banner to expand its outreach and services to additional schools across the region’s medically underserved areas – and serve an anticipated 2,000 school-aged children. Students whose sole access to health care has been through Banner’s pediatric emergency department will soon be able to receive cost-effective prevention and wellness services directly on school site. The funds will also support upgrades for equipment and health information technology at their permanent school sites – including a server to house 20 years of medical records.
The source of this capital fund is a little known provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Section 4101(a)) that provided one-time funding for construction, renovation, and equipment for SBHCs. The grants were an unqualified success for advocates who underscored to Congress the importance of SBHCs as a key link for children in the nation’s health care safety net. The first two rounds of grants – awarded in July and December of 2011 and totaling more than $109 million – were disbursed to 321 community and academic health centers, hospitals, and public health departments across the country.
The money is being used to construct new and expanded facilities, as well as to purchase mobile health units and specialized equipment for telehealth and dental services in school settings. HRSA estimates that the capital infusion will enable SBHC sites to expand their service capacity by 50%.
In all, federal funds went to school health sites across 44 states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Grants ranged in size from $30,000 to $500,000, with an average award of $346,000. Banner was one of five awards made to Arizona SBHC providers. Top grant getters by state were California (39 awards totaling $15.7M) and New York (38, $12.2M). At the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) we are particularly excited about the construction awards in Montana and Wyoming – two states that will open their first SBHCs on account of the HRSA grant program.
We’re proud of the efforts that led to this success. SBHC staff, advocates, and students from across the country worked tirelessly to build support for the Affordable Care Act – including creating virtual tours of their clinics, writing hundreds of letters, making thousands of phone calls, and traveling to visit their Members of Congress. That SBHCs were included in the legislation – and received this funding – is a credit to local advocacy, strong national partnerships, and Congressional champions of school-based health care.
Unfortunately, some in Congress have sought to end this successful program. In May 2011, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1214, which would revoke the unspent funds, by a 235-191 vote. The Senate has shown no interest in taking up this bill, so the funds ought to be safe until expended.
NASBHC will continue to work with advocates on the ground and champions on Capitol Hill to ensure that the final round of capital funding hits the ground in the spring. Across the country, organizations like Banner Health are putting this grant to good use — sending mobile health units into underserved communities, upgrading outdated equipment, adding additional exam rooms so that they can see more patients, and more.
To learn more about their work – including taking a virtual tour of a SBHC and reading stories – you can visit www.nasbhc.org/aboutsbhcs.
