The State of Ohio is excited to announce the launch of the new Ohio School-Based Health Care Toolkit. This resource is part of a collaborative effort between the Ohio Departments of Education, Medicaid, Health, and Mental Health and Addiction Services, alongside the Governor’s Office of Health Transformation, and marks the first time anywhere in the country such a broad range of state agencies have come together to work on this important issue. OFT leaders participated in its development.
Across the state, students are experiencing health challenges that prevent them from achieving their academic potential. Whether it is missing class to travel to office visits, needing glasses to see the whiteboard, struggling with undiagnosed or unmanaged behavioral or mental health issues, or lacking an entry point to the primary health care system, untreated health conditions have an impact on academic achievement. By bringing health care to schools and meeting students where they are, health and learning can improve.
The Ohio School-Based Health Care Toolkit supports schools and health care providers in developing partnerships to improve student access to high quality care. This toolkit includes Ohio-specific guidance and best practices for schools and health care providers as they work together to develop the model that works best in their community. Questions answered in toolkit materials include:
- How does school-based health care work?
- What are the key steps in getting started?
- How do we formalize our partnership?
- How can we build a sustainable partnership?
The toolkit is available at http://education.ohio.gov/SBHealthcareToolkit. This resource will empower schools and health care providers as they work to form partnerships which improve student access to high quality care and better prepare the whole student for future success.
Many Ohio school districts, health care providers, community associations and other stakeholders such as the OFT contributed to this effort. If you have questions or feedback on the toolkit, please contact schoolbasedhealthcare@education.ohio.gov.