8/23/2006 - Portland, ME…There are now six school-based health centers (SBHCs) serving students in Portland. The existing centers are located at Portland and Deering High Schools, King Middle School, Reiche Community School and the West School. In September, a new center will open at the new East End Community School serving elementary school youth. Since the first Center opened in Maine in 1986, school-based health centers have grown as partnerships among the many local sponsoring agencies, which include hospitals, community health centers, school districts, community mental health centers, the state of Maine and the Maine Assembly on School-Based Health Care (MeASBHC). By 2006, the number increased to 28 SBHCs serving 30 schools.

Cathy Roland, President of the Maine Assembly on School-Based Health Care said, “The School-Based Health Centers provide health care services to a population that is least likely to visit a doctor’s office. The direct benefits of the School-Based Health Centers include decreasing absenteeism from school and allowing parents to remain at work.”

School-based health centers are staffed by professionals including physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, dentists and physician assistants. In Portland, these health centers are sponsored by the City of Portland, Health & Human Services Department, Public Health Division in partnership with Portland Public Schools, Maine Medical Center and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Teen and Young Adult Health Program.

During the 2005-06 school year, the Portland school-based health centers enrolled about 1,700 students or nearly half of the student body population of the schools being served. Two thirds of enrolled students were MaineCare recipients. In addition to primary care, students can access on-site dental and mental health care. Efforts are made to find students a medical home (primary care provider) outside the school-based health center and maintain communication with that provider to better ensure the coordination of a student’s health care.

The Maine Assembly on School-Based Health Care is a statewide membership organization consisting of over 50 schools, community-based organizations, hospitals and individuals who offer vital resources for children and their families by providing health services and screening as well as linkages to services through health centers located within the school. To learn more visit www.measbhc.org.