Bringing Comprehensive Health Services to Bronx High School Students
Four gleaming examining rooms. Two well-equipped dental care rooms. Three comfortable rooms for health education and counseling. A sunny and well-appointed waiting area and an even sunnier staff that includes nurse practitioners, physicians, dentists, health educators, and mental health counselors. Few high schools in the country can match the brand-new health center that opened this winter on the Kennedy high school campus in the Bronx. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 30 drew City Councilman Oliver Koppell and other dignitaries.
The 3,000 sq. ft. health center, which will serve more than 3,000 students, is the largest ever opened by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in collaboration with the Mailman School of Public Health. Together they operate and staff a total of eight school-based health centers in New York City. The health centers provide comprehensive primary care and preventive care, including physical exams, asthma care, diabetes monitoring, comprehensive reproductive healthcare, teeth cleanings, and crisis counseling. Research conducted at the Mailman School shows that the centers improve access to primary and mental care for the students they serve, along with improved use of contraception. In general, school-based clinics have been found to bring the following benefits:
- Reduced emergency room visits
- Reduced hospitalizations
- Better school attendance
- Fewer teen pregnancies
The newest health center will serve students at the eight high schools that now occupy the campus that once served the behemoth John F. Kennedy High School. Eight students—one from each high school—served on advisory committee that provided input.
The new clinic, noted Robert Kelly, MD, President of NewYork-Presbyterian at the ribbon-cutting, embodies the hospital’s mission to be both “an academic medical center that is second to none” and to engage and serve its community.
Dr. Linda P. Fried, dean of the Mailman School, noted that more than 6,000 New York City students visited the seven school-based clinics during the 2010-11 academic year. With an eighth clinic, even more will benefit.