Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas School Based Health staff connected with fellow school-based healthcare professionals and advocates across the state of Kansas that focus on vulnerable children and adolescent populations during CHC/SEK’s annual School Based Health Conference.
The two-day conference was at the John Ugo Parolo Education Center.
Through School Based Health Centers, CHC/SEK brings healthcare directly to schools to ensure children are ready to learn, with more than 100 staff across southeast Kansas and Oklahoma and SBHC clinics in Montgomery, Allen, Cherokee, Crawford and Ottawa Counties.
The relationship between education and health is never simple, said Ashley Hooper, Director of Business Development, School Health Services. Approximately 22,000 or 1 out of 7 children miss 10 days each year due to illness in Kansas. That number can be as high as 18-22 days for many children with mental health issues.
Negative health effects are amplified for children living in poverty. Kansas has roughly 336,487 children living in poverty. Local children who live in poverty graduate from high school at a rate of 78 percent, while their classmates graduate at 91 percent. The effects of not having a diploma can be profound. Compared to their peers, students who don’t graduate are three times more likely to live in poverty, six times more likely to engage in criminal behavior and have a shorter lifespan — nine years on average.
“CHC/SEK is leading the charge to bring health care to where kids are — in school — by making school health centers and services a basic part of health care and education,” said Hooper. “It is our belief that ‘health happens in schools’ because we understand the pivotal role that schools play in the well-being of children. If we want to make sure that health care services reach as many children as possible, it’s a smart strategy to work with schools.”
