|
Communities in Schools of Greenville
Healthy Connections Program
Established in 1990, Communities in Schools of Greenville (CIS) is a non-profit organization that addresses the needs of at-risk children by starting in the school and connecting to their homes and communities. Its mission is to help students be successful in school. CIS does this by partnering with other agencies to bring needed resources to some of the most impoverished schools within Greenville County.
One program within CIS that does just that is the Healthy Connections Program. The program aims to reduce health disparities among school-aged children by increasing access to primary healthcare facilities and resources. Healthy Connections envisions all school-aged children having optimal health levels allowing them to learn and perform at their fullest capacity. Healthy Connections works to:
-
Increase the percentage of students who have completed a dental exam
-
Increase the percentage of students with primary care physicians
-
Increase Medicaid enrollment, especially among eligible Hispanic children
-
Decrease the number of emergency room visits by students
- Encourage parents and caregivers on medical and dental awareness for their children
 Healthy Connections started in 2002 at two Greenville schools and now serves students at nine elementary and middle schools. Healthy Connections’ staff is housed at the targeted schools. They work closely with school nurses and other school staff to identify health-related problems facing students and determine barriers to receiving needed care. The range of services provided by Healthy Connections staff include coordinating health care appointments, accompanying the child to the appointment, providing safe transportation and age-appropriate education during the visit and follow-up with the child’s parent. Healthy Connections provides all of these services, while working with parents to remove barriers related to cost, transportation, leaving work and locating childcare.
Healthy Connections is truly making a positive impact in the community. In the 2005/2006 school year alone, Healthy Connections impacted 2,087 students and 1,401 parents. This impact includes care students received at 246 dentist appointments, 95 doctor appointments, 49 optometrist appointments, 6 behavior health appointments and 7 audiologist appointments. Additionally, 71 home visits were made, 256 students were transported, and 56 Medicaid applications were completed with assistance.
For more information about the Healthy Connections program, contact Communities in Schools of Greenville at 864.250.6738.
Spotlight On Archive |
