Denise Felix was one of the 5 founding members of the Youth Advisory Board in 2007 and was a member until 2009. For ’09-’10, she was one of the Youth Advisory Board co-coordinators. All the while she was majoring in Public Health at UC Berkeley. She is now currently working for the US Department of Agriculture in food safety assessment. We caught up with her and asked her a few questions!

New mobile dental van purchased with federal grant funds will serve schools in San Luis Obispo county

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has announced another round of construction and equipment grants for school-based health centers: $75 million to be awarded to approximately 150 applicants, with a maximum award of $500,000. School-based health centers, school-based health center sponsors, and local education agencies are eligible to apply.

Deadlines: Part one of the application is due on June 26; part two is due on July 24. Awards are expected on December 12.

Funding announcement:  Read more.

Technical assistance webinar by the Bureau of Primary Health Care on May 24 at 10 a.m. PDT. More details coming soon.

NASBHC webinar on May 29 at 11 a.m. PDT to discuss the grants and provide guidance and support. Register now.

Questions? Contact Samantha Blackburn, CSHC’s Technical Assistance Director, with questions.

This announcement marks another great victory for our movement, building on two prior rounds of grants that together brought almost $17 million to SBHCs across California. We are proud to partner with you in putting health care where kids are—in schools!

Students from Richmond and De Anza High Schools discuss health hot spots throughout the Bay 

Throughout the months of March and April, members of the West Contra Costa Unified School District Student Coalition (link to page) have participated in a series of workshops entitled “Space MATTERS.” Facilitated by University of California, Berkeley students Cynthia Karina Leon and Becky Lee, the coalition members analyzed systemic health issues and decades-old policies that have led to disparate health outcomes for low-income communities throughout the Bay Area. For more information on the “Space MATTERS” workshop series, please contact Kat Gutierrez at kgutierrez@schoolhealthcenters.org.

Juan* is a teenager who had very bad acne. Boys at school teased him, girls wouldn’t talk to him, and he knew his family couldn’t afford to take him to the doctor unless it was a more serious medical condition. He knew the PFHK staff was on his high school campus and for months thought about seeking treatment, but he was too embarrassed and was worried if his family could afford it. After talking to a friend who told him PFHK was free, he put his embarrassment aside and mustered up the courage to ask his mom if he could seek treatment, of which she readily agreed.

At Juan’s first appointment he walked in wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and his head down to avoid eye contact – something his mom said was quite common of recent. His mom also reported that he had become quite withdrawn, stayed in his room instead of playing with the neighborhood kids, no longer brought friends over, and he opted to not try out for the Junior Varsity soccer team. She just attributed these changes to him being a teenager.

After the initial assessment, the PFHK clinician explained that acne was very normal for teens his age and with some changes in hygiene and a few medications he would notice major improvements in his condition. He was given the medication he required and told to return in 3 weeks for further evaluation. When he returned he said that he had been following the clinician’s instructions and he had noticed a small improvement. Juan continued to come for periodic follow up appointments so that his medications could be adjusted, and as he got to know the PFHK staff he began to open up more.

Nine months after his initial visit he happily reported only occasional outbreaks that responded very well to the acne spot treatment he was now using. But more importantly the PFHK staff noticed some real changes in his behavior and demeanor. He no longer wore the hooded sweatshirt; he greeted the staff with warm hellos telling them about his activities in school clubs and sharing that he was a little nervous about the upcoming football game where he would be introduced as one of the Homecoming King nominees.

While Juan wasn’t selected Homecoming King, the transformation that PFHK staff witnessed was remarkable nonetheless. With the medical care he needed to clear up his acne, Juan regained his self-confidence and returned to being an outgoing and active young man. One might scoff at the idea that the treatment of a minor medical condition such as acne would warrant the need for school based health centers. In the case of Juan, who had limited access to health care services, it was such a school based health center that made a world of difference in his life.

*Not patient’s real name

(Originally posted as part of School-Based Health Center Awareness Month 2012 on the website of the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care.)

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La'Gayla Cook (center) of Life Academy, talks about how her school health center's youth leadership team works to support all students. Also part of that team are student Jennifer Morales (left) and adult ally Alyson Boblusky (right).

The California School Health Centers Association’s conference returned to Sacramento after two years of regional conferences to offer a day of workshops to help the growth and expansion of school-based health centers (SBHCs). The second day was filled with visits to legislative offices to educate policymakers on why SBHCs are an innovative way to make sure that all kids get health care and can do well in school.

“The most valuable part was the integration of education, health and behavioral health,” one attendee said in the evaluation.

Another wrote: “The workshops! They were on important topics and are easily applied in everyday work.”

Added another: “The break out sessions were superb. The plenary was very encouraging.”

Day 1 – Workshops

The opening plenary was at capacity as Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Superintendent Dr. John Deasy acknowledged the ballroom full of school nurses, health providers, educators, and other school health advocates for the important work they do every day to provide crucial wrap around services.

Students suffering from the pain of a toothache or dental decay can’t focus in class, Deasy said. School nurses, teachers and school-based health centers play a pivotal role in improving student health and achievement.

He also pointed to LAUSD, where staff and administrators are working to improve student nutrition by improving access to healthy foods in schools and the surrounding communities. And students are helping to make decisions by taste-testing potential new cafeteria foods.

Workshops ranged from funding and staffing oral health services to confidentiality and wellness policies to the role of SBHCs in California’s Health Benefit Exchange and youth leadership and youth-led research. The depth and breadth of workshops resulted in learning and networking opportunities for the variety of people involved in school health services.

Day 2 – School Health Day @ the Capitol

The day packed with conference workshops was followed by a day of action: educating and reaching out to policymakers. CSHC organized 150 youth and adults and sent them to the State Capitol, where teams of students, providers and SBHC supporters visited with policymakers and their staff. The message was clear: prioritize school health!

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, formerly in the State Assembly and a former high school cross-country and fitness coach, rallied the group before the visits with policymakers with an energizing speech and reminded the people about the power of being a constituent.

Students from Washington Prep High School in Los Angeles meet with Tim Cromartie (l), Capitol Director for Assemblyman Mike Davis, to discuss the benefits of school-based health centers.

In all 53 visits to legislative offices on School Health Day @ the Capitol, team members spoke of their personal experience with school health services and suggested to policymakers three ways to support SBHCs: 1) support the health care safety net; 2) support schools; and 3) advance school health through health care reform.

Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (District 7) was so impressed with the team members that he took them on a spontaneous tour of the California Senate chambers.

On the visit to Assemblyman Roger Dickinson’s office (District 8), team members had a productive meeting with the Assemblyman’s Legislative Aide Myriam Bouaziz.

“It was a wonderful experience because I got to showcase the wonderful work we are doing and the difference we are making in students’ lives. Ms. Bouaziz was engaged in the conversation and expressed Assemblyman Dickinson’s passion toward supporting school health services and the expansion of school-based health centers,” a team member wrote in her review of the visit. “I can see why this type of outreach is so important. Because if we don’t tell our elected officials about why they should support school health services, who will?”

And stay tuned: We are planning another statewide conference in 2013 – this time in Southern California.

See more photos from the conference.

See a video recap of the conference.