A comprehensive school-based clinic: university and community partnership

To describe the evolution and current status of a university and community partnership engaged in operating an urban elementary school-based clinic (SBC) POPULATION: The children at the school who are eligible to receive care at the SBC include 500 elementary students and 200 adolescents who attend a magnet junior high school housed in the same building. The vast majority of the children attending the school are from families whose incomes are below the national poverty level. Eighty-five percent of the children are black. Fifteen percent are Hispanic, non-white.

A variety of services and programs are offered to the children and their families for the promotion of health and the prevention of mental disorders. Service, education, and research occur simultaneously to achieve the multiple goals of the partners and participants.

Advanced practice nurses can provide quality health and mental health care services for school-age children and their families through SBCs. Institutional partnerships, capitalizing on each other's strengths, can expand the availability of SBC offerings.