Back To School Newsletter

We hope you are excited about the start of a new school year and know you are making a difference in the lives of Washington children and youth!

Washington’s Strength in Numbers

Washington convention attendees
Washington state convention gathering, courtesy of Kendall Watanabe of International Community Health Services.

National Convention. Washington state was well represented at the 2018 National School-Based Health Care Convention in Indianapolis in June. Over 25 people from Washington participated, connecting with each other and attendees from across the U.S. working in school-based health.

SBHC Census. We had 100% participation by our more than 50 Washington state school-based health centers (SBHCs) in the 2016-2017 National SBHC Census. Thank you! The resulting data is available and the Alliance will be creating various summaries in the coming months. In the meantime, let us know if you could use some specific information.

Vashon SBHC surpasses first year goals. In its first year of operations, Neighborcare Health’s Vashon SBHC served about one-third of the students in the Vashon Island School District. With an initial target to serve 350 students, the SBHC instead served more than 470 students from all three schools with nearly 1,300 medical visits, 1,400 mental health visits and 90 dental visits.

Our numbers are growing! New SBHCs are opening in a number of locations around the state this fall. We will keep you posted as they officially launch.

Resources

National quality counts initiative

National Quality Counts Initiative. The back-to-school season is the perfect time to report your 2017-2018 SBHC performance measures. Learn more about the National Quality Counts Initiative and report your data today!

School-wide wellness. How do you create a culture of school-wide wellness, beyond the walls of the health center? Check out the Hallways to Health Toolkit from the National School-Based Health Alliance.

What is a school-based health center, anyway? We have a SBHC one pager about school-based health centers in Washington state.

King County School-Based Health Retreat. It’s coming up fast! The King County 2018-19 School-Based Health Retreat will be held next Wednesday, August 29, at South Seattle College.

Funding and education opportunity. HealthierHere is seeking proposals from community-based groups and organizations to conduct education about King County’s Medicaid Transformation work. Go here for more information. Applications will be accepted and reviewed until September 15.

Advocacy Camp. Learn how to advocate with lawmakers at the Children’s Alliance Advocacy Camp, to be held October 2-4.

Job opening in school-based health. Astria Sunnyside Hospital is hiring a Telehealth Project Coordinator to support a telehealth pilot to increase access to healthcare through schools in Sunnyside, WA.

How can we help you in your work?

The Washington School-Based Health Alliance will soon be redesigning its website to better provide resources and communicate funding, networking and advocacy opportunities in school-based health. Do you have ideas for how our website and resources could help you in your work? Email Program Manager Sandy Lennon at slennon@wasbha.org.