Public Health Current Issue: School-Based Health Centers (SBHC)

Introduction

Public health is important in enhancing the well-being and quality of life of the people in the Florida community. This essay is an analysis of School-Based Health Centers (SBHC). Specifically, the article focuses on the post ‘Our School-Based Health Centers’ posted on the Community Health of South Florida’s website. This article discusses the effectiveness of (SBHC) in improving the health outcomes of the students.

Article Discussed

Our School-Based Health Centers’ published

Source

Community Health of South Florida. (2018). School-Based Health Centers | Programs | CHI. This article is taken from the Community Health of South Florida website and be retrieved from http://www.chisouthfl.org/programs/school-based-health-centers/

Summary

SBHC is important in the school system of Florida. It ensures that all students have sufficient access to healthcare services. As the article acknowledges, students will learn better when they are healthy. SBHCs ensure that important medical assistance is available to keep students in school. According to the Community Health of South Florida (2018), SBHCs can help bridge the healthcare gap resulting from soaring health costs. This is because these centers offer comparatively cheaper medical services and allow some children access to specialized care such as dental and pediatric checkups. These centers also offer considerable mental health care for patients. An article by Dowdy et al (2015) asserts that mental health assistance is important for learners who have stress, depression, and trauma which could occur considering an upsurge of violence in schools. However, only a small fraction of SBHCs have the needed technology to deal with modern healthcare issues. For instance, out of the 31 SBHCs ran by the Community Health of South Florida only 4 are equipped with cutting-edge technology such as telemedicine units to enable virtual engagement with doctors. From the article, it is undeniable that SBHCs have a significant role to play in the provision of medical preventive, behavioral and laboratory health care services.

Reaction

In my opinion, the SBHC is important in improving the health of young people in Florida. The children and teenagers are easily accessible in the school environment since they are all bundled up in one place, unlike the case after school hours. As Estrada (2018) acknowledges, the school environment is, therefore, apposite to give students important information on enhancing their health level. For instance, young learners can acquire knowledge and skills on good handwashing practices. SBHC ensures that high school students access health care within the learning environment. This can help in the case of emergencies such as falls or cuts, especially where the health staff offers effective care.

However, I believe there should be an increase in the capacity of the SBHCs since schools have hundreds of students with diverse health needs. As Estrada (2018) postulates, increasing the staffing requirements of SBHCs is an important step in improving health access to the young learners. As well, the SBHCs should be equipped with modern equipment to improve the diagnosis of various conditions within the school environment.

In summation, as it stands, SBHCs are a key component of public health. Taking care of the learners in the school environment is important in improving the health outcomes in Florida. Learners must be able to get high-quality care if a health emergency occurs in the school environment and SBHCs are an effective way of ensuring this. SBHCs also improve the health outcomes of the Florida population. Students also get important information on a healthy lifestyle. The importance of SBHCs in improving the health of the learners cannot be ignored.