Why SBHCs?

Coordinated Care

Care coordination is the deliberate organization and alignment of healthcare activities to advance health outcomes for youth. School-based health centers strengthen existing healthcare connections by providing an infrastructure that facilitates communication among youth, schools, clinicians, and parents where youth spend the majority of their time: school.

This model brings together students, schools, and families to support youth health. SBHCs strengthen existing healthcare connections and provide care for students who may not have access otherwise. Each part of the system works together, with SBHCs playing a key role in keeping students healthy and ready to learn.

Benefits of SBHCs

Research has shown that school-based health centers (SBHCs) improve utilization of health care services, health outcomes, attendance, grades, and graduation rates. This in turn improves prospects for lifelong health, educational attainment and economic opportunity. 

School-based health centers:

  • Increase attendance by providing services on campus so students miss less class time for appointments and illness.
  • Reduce barriers to learning by improving student health with preventive care, chronic care, and early interventions in students’ physical, mental and developmental health.
  • Increase school connectedness by providing mental health services and coordinating with other student support services in the school.
  • Engage parents and community by providing information and services for the physical and emotional development of their children.
  • Save parents and employers time by allowing students to stay in school to get their health care needs met.
  • Support teachers and school staff by coordinating to support individual students and helping with health promotion and education schoolwide.
  • Lower health care costs by reducing emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

Notable Academic Mentions

Launching Lifelong Health by Improving Health Care for Children, Youth, and Families (2024)
In response to rising concerns about the adequacy of pediatric health care to meet evolving challenges and societal needs, the Committee on Improving the Health and Wellbeing of Children and Youth through Health Care System Transformation was assembled to identify key levers of change for improving the health care system for children and youth. The focus of this report and its recommendations is on the health care sector, defined broadly to include clinical and community care, along with public health investments in child and family health and school-based efforts in health care.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Launching Lifelong Health by Improving Health Care for Children, Youth, and Families. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27835.

Expanding school-based health services, specifically centers, is a key piece of the report’s recommendations given the natural partnership opportunities between schools, families, and community organizations to achieve preventative healthcare and/or healthcare education.

Read the report summary!

Quick reads from the National Alliance.

School-Based Health Care Addresses Youth Based Mental Health

School-Based Health Alliance

School-Based Health Care works for Education

School-Based Health Alliance

Further Research

List of academic and professional research on the effects of SBHCs. Last updated 2/1/2025.