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ALBANY, NY (August 30, 2007)
-- City School District of Albany Superintendent Eva C. Joseph, Ed.D.,
and Whitney M. Young Jr. Health
Services President/CEO James D. Sinkoff today announced the first-ever
collaboration in the tri-county area to provide primary and preventative
medical services to students. Mr. Sinkoff and Dr. Joseph are pleased to
announce the opening of school-based health centers at Schuyler
Achievement Academy, Giffen Memorial Elementary School and Sheridan
Preparatory Academy.
The announcement was made at Schuyler
Achievement Academy on Clinton Avenue, the first of the three centers to
open this fall.
All students attending these schools are eligible to enroll in Whitney
Young’s School-Based Health Center Program. There are no out-of-pocket
expenses to families for on-site health services provided to registered
children.
Providing school-based health centers to
Albany students was an important initiative of the city’s Board of
Education. Today’s announcement represents the culmination of more than
two years of collaborative work between Whitney Young and the school
district to further benefit students and their families.
“This is a significant step forward for the
City School District of Albany as we continue our work to provide an
environment of high expectations, high performance and constant
improvement for all of our students,” Dr. Joseph said. “Providing access
to free wellness services in these schools will help keep our students
healthier, which will mean less time missed in the classroom. It also
will offer assistance to working parents, who will know that their
children have access to quality primary care in their school building.”
Whitney Young’s School-Based Health Center Program, the first of its
kind in Albany, Rensselaer and Schenectady counties, is funded primarily
through grants from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health
Resources and Services Administration ($373,600) and the New York State
Department of Health’s School-Based Health Center Program ($64,098).
Additionally, donor support will be sought by Whitney Young’s Foundation
to assist with program expansions for the health centers.
“Providing access to quality primary and preventive health care services
is the cornerstone of Whitney Young’s mission,” Mr. Sinkoff said. “Our
new school-based health centers will mark a significant advance in
health care services for Albany elementary students. The centers will
improve access to care, make health services more convenient for
families and enable children to fully benefit from their education.”
School-based health center services include routine physical exams;
diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses; treatment of
minor injuries; vision, dental and blood pressure screenings;
immunizations; health education, counseling and wellness promotion; and
nutrition education and weight management. Whitney Young will make
referrals for additional health and mental health services that cannot
be provided at the school-based health center. Services are provided
under the direction of a medical doctor, family nurse practitioners and
a registered nurse/program manager.
For children who have a current medical provider, school-based health
centers provide an additional access point for receiving timely health
care services.
School-based health centers do not replace the relationship that a child
may have with his or her pediatrician or provider. They work
collaboratively to coordinate care with providers and parents. If a
child does not have a provider, Whitney Young can become the primary
care provider of record.
In addition, Whitney Young will provide families with access to
facilitated insurance enrollers who can assist in determining a child’s
eligibility for programs such as Medicaid and Child Health Plus.
Ongoing successful collaborations between Whitney Young and the City
School District of Albany include mobile hygienists services
(Seal-A-Smile) and the expansion of Whitney Young’s chronic care model
targeting pediatric asthma.
The City School
District of Albany serves almost 9,400 students in 19
elementary, middle and high schools. The district includes several
magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic
opportunities for students in addition to neighborhood schools. The
district is more than halfway through its comprehensive facilities
project to newly build and/or renovate nearly all of its elementary
and middle schools. The ultimate goal of the facilities project is
to provide schools with the resources necessary to help students
succeed in the 21st century. |
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