Why Are School Healthcare Initiatives Crucial?

When students aren’t mentally and physically well, they aren’t able to learn effectively and reach their full potential. On-campus healthcare is key to keeping students thriving in and outside of the classroom. 

When you think about healthcare in schools, you probably think of getting sent to the nurse’s office when you’re sick. Nurses play a crucial role in any school’s healthcare system, but they’re actually just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to on-campus care.

Many students with hearing or vision issues, learning disabilities, or other medical conditions first show symptoms at school when they are young. When schools have basic diagnostic testing systems in place, they are able to catch these issues early on. This helps students get the treatments and accommodations they need to succeed in school from a young age. 

Additionally, offering counseling services, support groups, and other forms of mental healthcare is highly beneficial to students both in and outside of school. 

Right now, 1 in 6 children have a mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder, making these services more vital than ever. Mental health support helps students stay focused in school, but it also helps them learn emotional regulation and relationship skills that they can carry with them throughout life. 

School healthcare initiatives go beyond just helping students – they also help the broader school community. On-campus healthcare helps teachers and other school staff when they get sick or injured, which helps reduce unexpected staffing issues and helps teachers succeed. Additionally, many schools provide healthcare services for the families of their students. This is particularly helpful for families that do not have health insurance or are underinsured. 

Many states actually require public schools to offer some form of healthcare for their students. For example, California has extensive legislation in place regarding nursing access and care for chronic conditions in schools. 

Healthcare Trends in Schools: Why the Nation is Concerned

Public schools are currently facing a variety of challenges that make it difficult for them to provide high-quality healthcare to students. Many schools have faced budget cuts and other financial challenges as the economy has fluctuated over the last few years. This means that there often isn’t funding available to improve healthcare services. 

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the way schools operate. Many districts had at least two years of remote and hybrid learning, which was challenging for both students and teachers. 

Although most schools are now back to full-time in-person learning, this shift has shaken up the way that school districts operate. Many staff members are still adjusting to the new normal, which affects the efficiency of school operations. 

Right now, only approximately 34% of schools in the United States offer mental health screenings and healthcare outreach services to their student body. This means that more than two-thirds of students don’t have convenient access to essential healthcare at school. 

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, access was even worse, with only 17% of schools offering these services via telehealth. 

When students don’t receive healthcare in school, underprivileged and low-income students are affected most. As of 2021, approximately 5.4% of children in the US were uninsured, which means they rely on healthcare from school and other public resources in order to stay healthy. Even families that do have insurance may still struggle to access the healthcare they need due to high copays and difficulty finding providers.  

How Healthy Campus Bridges the Widening Gap

For many schools, the challenge of implementing healthcare on campus is too difficult to tackle alone. Working with a specialized healthcare partner simplifies the process so you can offer healthcare more efficiently. 

At Healthy Campus, we help public schools face these challenges head-on with a modern healthcare model. We work directly with school districts to implement accessible and affordable care programs on campus. Our program is more cost-effective than hiring full-time healthcare professionals for your school, and it also makes setup much faster and more efficient. 

We prioritize regular screenings for both physical and mental health conditions to ensure that student health doesn’t fall by the wayside. We also offer access to primary care services to help the school community bounce back faster from common injuries and illnesses. 

The COVID-19 pandemic was a reminder of just how dangerous outbreaks can be if they aren’t properly managed. We offer access to diagnostic testing and other outbreak management services to prevent illnesses from spreading rapid-fire throughout your school. 

This is important not only for controlling the spread of COVID-19, but also for managing various strains of the flu, strep throat, and other highly contagious illnesses. 

In addition to providing access to essential in-person and telehealth services, we also help school districts understand local and national healthcare requirements and implement them accordingly. This is particularly helpful when it comes to documentation and record management. 

Want to Learn More?

If your school is ready to upgrade your healthcare services, get in touch with Healthy Campus today to learn more. 

We’ve already helped more than 600 schools throughout the state of California access healthcare services, and our team is here to make sure that every child has access to the high-quality healthcare they deserve.