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Visits to SBHCs rebound from pandemic declines; three new centers open

Aug 26, 2022

As students across Greater Cincinnati return to class this month, three rural school districts now have better access to health services thanks to the efforts of our partners. These facilities join more than 40 school-based health centers throughout the region that have served more than 170,000 patients since 2014.

On Aug. 1, Harmony Health opened its newest location across the street from Switzerland County Schools in Vevay, Indiana. We were excited to work with the district and Community Mental Health Center Inc. to fund a school-linked health center in Indiana for the first time. Harmony Health will provide personalized care for everyone from children to seniors five days a week. Students will be able to see a provider and get back to the classroom quickly to continue learning.

Just east of the Indiana state line, students in Southwest Local School District in Harrison, Ohio, now have access to primary care and mental health care via telehealth at William Henry Harrison High School. Interact for Health President and CEO Kate Schroder gave remarks at the Aug. 10 opening of Mercy Health Community Health Center highlighting how input from the community helped make the center possible.

In Brooksville, Kentucky, a 1,250 square foot health center with two medical exam rooms and four dental chairs will open later in the fall to serve Bracken County Schools and the community. Medical provider PrimaryPlus, the Bracken County Health Department and the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry partnered with the school district on the project.

Data from the 2021-22 school year show that the number of patients served by the school-based health centers funded by Interact for Health is once again increasing. The centers saw a decline in patients in 2019-20 and 2020-21 because of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021-22, the number of primary care, dental and vision patients all increased. Since 2014, school-based dental centers have served about 120,000 patients and school-based vision centers have served nearly 49. View this infographic to see the data.

We're so pleased to support these new projects that will bring health care closer to kids, their families and the communities of Harrison, Switzerland County and Bracken County.

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