Dedication of Children's Memorial Hospital Arai Middle School Health Center in Uptown
March 13, 2002 — Children's Memorial Hospital will be
dedicating the first school-based health center in a Chicago middle school, Arai
Middle School in Uptown, on Wednesday, March 13 at 4 p.m. Currently, there are
19 school-based health centers within the Chicago Public Schools, with the Arai center being the
first in a middle school.
The center, which opened in January in a facility built with the help of the
Chicago Public Schools, has already served more than 350 students. Primary
services include treating minor illnesses and injuries, physical exams,
immunizations and preventive medicine, mental health counseling, health
education, nutritional counseling and dental care. Open Monday through Friday
from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year round, the health center enables students to
receive care without leaving school grounds or taking their parents out of work.
"Since its opening, the Arai health center has been extremely well received
by students and parents alike," says Cynthia Mears, DO, adolescent medicine
specialist and health center medical director. "Without our center, many of the
kids we see would not receive any medical or dental care. Adolescents are one of
the most medically underserved populations in the country and our center is
designed to make our students feel welcome, secure and able to talk about their
problems."
With 90 percent of the approximately 500 sixth through eighth grade students
coming from low-income families, Arai students are in particular need of
adequate, affordable health care. The school's ethnic make-up is diverse: 55
percent African American or African, 27 percent Hispanic, 14 percent Asian/
Pacific Islander and four percent white. Nearly 21 percent of Arai's students
have limited English proficiency.
"Having the school-based health center available to our diverse student
population is beneficial to them and their families," says Patricia
Monroe-Taylor, principal of the Arai Middle School. "For many students, health
problems can interfere with the learning process and we are hopeful that having
the health center here will help improve our students' overall health and
learning abilities."
The Children's Memorial Hospital Arai Middle School Health Center was made
possible through a combination of public and private funding including donations
from Chicago Public Schools, Illinois Department of Commerce and Community
Affairs, Illinois Department of Human Services, Polk Bros. Foundation, Otho S.A.
Sprague Memorial Institute and Lillian S. Wells Foundation, Inc.
State Representative Larry McKeon was instrumental in securing funding to get
the health center off the ground. "The children of Illinois are the future of
our state, and the children growing up in economically disadvantaged communities
like Chicago's Uptown need our help in getting the proper health care they
deserve to grow up to be active contributing members of our society," said
representative McKeon.
In addition to Dr. Mears, the
clinic staff consists of a full-time pediatric nurse practitioner, a full-time
certified medical assistant, a part-time health educator, a part-time community
outreach worker and a part-time dental hygienist. The health center also serves
as a training site for pediatric residents from Children's Memorial and nursing
students from Rush University College of Nursing.
Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, is recognized as one of the top
pediatric hospitals in the country and number one in Illinois by rankings
published in U.S. News & World Report. Its physicians are on staff at The
Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University.
For more information, call Contact: Arla Silverstein 773.880.4728.
BACKGROUND:
According to a recent Surgeon General's report on health promotion and
disease prevention, adolescents are the only group in the United States whose
health status has not improved over the past three decades. In addition,
adolescents have the lowest utilization of health care services of any age group
and are the least likely to seek care at a provider's office.
To combat this problem, hospitals and health centers across the country are
working with schools to provide convenient, accessible and affordable health
care to students through school-based health centers.
A study conducted among Chicago high school students by the Ounce of
Prevention Fund and DePaul University found that school-based health centers
reach and engage a population that is at extremely high risk for negative
outcomes and most likely to drop out of school. For example, the study found
that between 9th and 11th grade, cigarette smoking and marijuana use decreased
among students at health center schools, but increased among those at non-center
schools.
School-based health centers contribute to fewer school absences and higher
compliance with required immunizations and physical exams according to the
Illinois Department of Health.
With urban students growing up exposed to poverty and violence, mental health
care is one of the most needed services in school-based health centers. Studies
confirm that 11 percent of all children have a diagnosable mental health
disorder that results in serious impairment (Surgeon General Report on Mental
Health, 1999) and the poverty and violence common to inner-city areas can
exacerbate these disorders.
According to the Ounce of Prevention Fund, school-based health centers are
among the most promising intervention models as they reach and serve a
population that traditionally underutilizes health care and is least likely to
receive such services anywhere. Reaching these at-risk adolescents means that
they will be more likely to stay in school, delay early childbearing and avoid
substance abuse.
School-based health centers such as the Children's Memorial Hospital Arai
Middle School Health Center are making a positive impact on the lives of the
students using the health care services they offer.