School-based clinics reduce ED visits, improve school attendance

School-based clinics in Oregon, California and other states are becoming a small, but important part of access to health care.

Now research is showing that these clinics and their focus on prevention help reduce emergency room visits, improve school attendance, reduce Medicaid costs and promote healthier eating habits.

Schools also are finding that the clinics help improve academic performance.

“Teachers, principals and staff members are recognizing they are not going to be successful with kids if they don’t address [the] underlying health issues,” Serena Clayton, executive director of the California School Health Centers Association recently told the Los Angeles Times.

Read more in the full Los Angeles Times story.