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.