Strategic planning in the financing of school-based health clinics within urban communities

Delivering health services within the school setting is not a new idea. School-based health centers (SBHCs) are a widely accepted concept because they treat students for a broad range of physical, mental, and social health problems. Critics contend that schools should not involve themselves with students' non-academic needs, yet, schools now more than ever are involved with their students' welfare because of the socio-economical environments they live in which they live. SBHCs realize that students are in no position to learn if their health-care needs are substandard. They also recognize the health-care paradigm shift towards schools that serve as a central location where concerned health-care professionals can deliver care, prevention, and educational measures promoting healthy and academically successful students. SBHCs also empower the school's community by providing pertinent health information on topics that concern them or where the community's behavior patterns place them at risk. SBHCs receive funding from a variety of sources, including state, federal, boards of education, grants and private donations. Placing health-care services in schools assures students access to immediate care and guarantees that services rendered meets their diverse individual needs.