Memorial Hermann

Health Centers for Schools

With nearly $2.5 million in corporate, foundation and individual gifts, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System partnered with three school districts in Houston, TX to create the Memorial Hermann Health Centers for Schools, a group of five school-based clinics that operate Monday through Friday, year-round and provide about 24,000 annual visits.

Memorial Hermann operates the clinics and provides more than $700,000 in funding each year. Host schools are selected strategically so that students from other nearby schools can access services easily. More than three-quarters of students seen at the clinics have no health insurance at all, while the remainder do not typically access care because of transportation issues or other challenges. The five school-based clinics serve as a medical home for uninsured children and as a secondary access point for those with insurance by offering primary care, mental health counseling, health education, and mobile dental care.

The program diligently collects outcomes data, which strengthens the program and sustains community support. Conscious of making every dollar count, the program is willing to curtail or restructure services that are not meeting objectives and add services that will be most beneficial. The annual performance evaluations of all Health Centers for Schools staff are at least in part tied to strategic objectives.

Results (2006-2007)

• Student asthma exacerbations, ED visits and hospitalizations decreased by 67 percent;
• Cholesterol levels among students in the cholesterol management program declined by 73%;
• Students who received mental health counseling had improved grade point averages and self-reported well-being, along with fewer suspensions, detentions and days absent.

*** Deborah Ganelin, Memorial Hermann, deborah.ganelin@memorialhermann.org.

Published: January 26, 2009