Ian Scott, WCAAP Program Coordinator
How can schools and families work together more closely to support student well-being? And how do we create a strong circle of prevention and crisis services around each child, where everyone communicates and works as a team?
These two questions caught my attention last month when I attended the School Based Health Alliance’s annual conference in Bellingham at Western Washington University. The event started with an exceptional welcome keynote from Representative Debra Lekanoff (D-40) welcoming us to her district, sharing personal stories of the importance of a nurse practitioner in facilitating health in her rural town, and highlighting the importance of holistic support in schools for students and families.
As a co-chair of the appropriations committee at the state level, Representative Lekanoff guides the writing and passing of laws that determine the allocation of state funds. This year, as the state looks at a $2 – 5 billion deficit this upcoming fiscal year, she urged all school-based health programs funded by the state to frame their relevance through four main areas:
- Does the program save lives?
- Does the program support healthcare for all?
- Does the program sustain hope for future generations of Washingtonians?
- Does the provide a home?
These 4 questions will be the rubric for state-funded programs as the appropriations committee examines their budget. Representative Lekanoff encouraged constituents to engage with their legislators by calling or emailing their representatives about which specific school-based healthcare initiatives they believe are important.
She stressed that cohesive messaging from many constituents will lead to a program rising in priority on the appropriations committee docket. In short, if you care about an exceptional state-funded health program and want it to be fully funded; enter your zipcode, find your legislator’s email and phone number, and ask 25-50 of your neighbors and local friends to send the same message.
The rest of the day continued with robust breakout sessions discussing questions such as: When a school desires to implement a health service, should they rent or buy the service? What are the pros and cons of each? How can we facilitate stable, consistent funding for school-based health programs? What are positive childhood experiences (PCEs) and how can they counteract adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)?
At lunch time, WA SBHA board president Peter Asante, MD, FAAP (and WCAAP Equitable Care Committee co-chair) presented Representative Rebecca Stonier the Lifetime Achievement Award honoring a lifetime’s worth of work to advance health equity for youth.
To top it all off, the conference ended with a dynamic panel of teenagers speaking on their personal experience with positive effect of school-based health programs, reminding me the why behind the work I do at WCAAP: for the future generations to flourish and live healthier, more purpose-driven lives than we do now.