School Health Centers Bridge Gap for Underserved Teens

For students attending Stamford’s West Hill High School, health care is as easy to access as a friend’s Facebook page.

One of several such school-based health centers in the state, it treats more than 1,500 students. For them, the center is their only means to primary medical care. And because it’s on site, its always available.

“We fill a gap,” said Dennis Torres, director of healthcare services at Family Centers.

Torres, who oversees the school-based health centers, was on hand earlier this week when Family Centers, a private, non-profit organization, marked National School-Based Health Center Awareness Month at West Hill High.

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-4), state Rep. Lile Gibbons, R-150, of Greenwich and Joe Rodriguez from U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s office attended.

“It really is the pointy end of the spear,” Himes told Patch. “It’s the only way to reach a vulnerable population. I nearly fell out of my shoes when I learned that a high school in Stamford has 60 percent of its students who don’t have health insurance or adequate health care.”

For 27 years, the state’s school-based health centers have delivered health care to students in schools. There are more than 75 such centers in the state.

The centers provide both physical, mental and oral health services to more than 44,000 students annually, according to the Connecticut Association of School-Based Health Centers (CASBHC).

These children lack access to basic medical care. Either they are uninsured, underinsured or lack transportation, lack knowledge about available services and the importance of preventive health. 

Torres said the center is essential even for students whose parents carry health insurance. When one factors in a $40 or a $50 co-pay, time off from work, and the idea of pulling a student out of school it becomes challenging to see a doctor, Torres said.

“We can provide time and energy and include health education with each visit,” Torres said.

Students not only get treated for everything from ear infections to HIV, they get a primer on how to eat more healthily. That’s important because childhood obesity is a national epidemic, Himes said.

Last year about 4,500 students were enrolled in Stamford. Of those students, about less than half used the center, Torres said. Participating students average about four-and-a-half visits annually.

The passage of federal health care means that by 2014 an estimated 98 percent of the state’s children will be insured, Torres said.  Even so, having on-site access makes a tremendous difference in a student’s health, he said.

Connecticut adolescents in 2010 experienced a 3 percent rise in deaths due to accidents, suicide and homicides, while the U.S. numbers decreased by 17 percent, according to CASBHC.  In Connecticut, teens are the most underserved segment of the population.

And of everything that comprises comprehensive health care, mental health can be overlooked.

“Mental health is a big component, too,” Torres said. “More accessibility means more successful outcomes.”