DeKalb Schools, Emory Creating School-Based Health Centers

DEKALB COUNTY, GA — DeKalb County School District (DCSD) and Emory University announced Monday that they will collaborate on the development of six new school-based health centers in DeKalb County schools. Emory will use tax revenues collected by DeKalb to establish the health centers in DeKalb Schools over a five-year span.

The school-based health centers will serve to improve the overall health and wellbeing of children and adolescents through comprehensive health services that support the student, their families and the school system.

DCSD Interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson said the district is excited about the partnership.

“We know that healthy students are more likely to come to school on a daily basis, remain engaged and excel academically," said said in a news release. "We look forward to the opportunity to form meaningful and impactful partnerships with other agencies to serve our children in need.”

The two groups will begin planning to identify the six sites, she said. The goal is to open the first two at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year.

The others will be implemented at years three and five of the agreement, at a rate of two per year.

The tax revenue used to establish these centers is estimated at $6.75 million, or $1.35 million per year. After the five-year agreement, DeKalb County Schools and Emory aim to make these school-based health centers self-sustaining within the communities they serve.

They will be directed by Veda Johnson, MD, professor in the department of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine.

“School-based health centers are a holistic approach to caring for underserved children and adolescents, improving access to primary health care, and in turn improving overall health outcomes and school attendance and performance,” says Johnson.

“The structure of these health centers will include comprehensive primary care with an integrated behavioral health component. This is critical to providing care for the ‘whole child’ and addressing those issues that impact a child’s learning and overall academic achievement.”