Emory University's Urban Health Program funds MED project in Berrien County

The Berrien County Collaborative recently received support from Emory University's Urban Health program. This funding will assist in the start-up, public relations, and marketing of the MED. The MED is a school-based health clinic designed to bridge the gaps in health care services for students. This is a combined effort that uniquely links pediatricians, general practitioners, psychiatrists, nurses, and other health care professionals through onsite and telehealth delivered services.

State of Our Union

According to the 2009 KIDS COUNT Data Book, a national report on the well-being of America’s children by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Georgia ranks 42nd in the nation. Georgia ranks in the bottom 10 in five categories: high-school dropouts; teens not attending school and not working; low-birthweight babies; children in single-parent families; and infant mortality. Georgia has the second-highest percentage of high-school dropouts in the country. In addition, more than 300,000 of Georgia’s children are uninsured, and as a result do not have a medical home and have limited access to routine health care.

Goal of the Comprehensive School Based Health Clinic Program:

• To increase access to quality health care, improve the delivery of health services, and improve the health of Georgia’s children.
• To facilitate the expansion of school-based health clinics throughout the state from two to 12 over the next five years.
• To organize a state association for school-based health programs.

Through the expansion of school-based clinic services, children in Georgia will benefit from improved access to primary health care, improved health outcomes, and improved school attendance. The state will benefit from reduced costs to the Medicaid system through the reduction in inappropriate emergency room visits, hospitalizations for chronic illnesses
(i.e., asthma and diabetes), and transportation costs.