There are many children under the age of 18 in North Carolina that do not have access to the healthcare they need. To help remedy the situation, the State of North Carolina funds School Health Centers (SHC) with the goal to increase access to age-appropriate healthcare for older children and adolescents living in underserved communities.
SHCs provide access to comprehensive acute, chronic, and preventive healthcare services including annual wellness visits in collaboration with individual schools, local education agencies, primary care and specialty providers, and other agencies along with community-based organizations.
North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) www.ncdhhs.gov issued a Request for Applications November 14, 2014, to find applicants to operate School Health Centers (SHC) http://ncscha.org/centers.php.
SHC applicants selected for funding to operate SHCs must prove that they are capable, have the capacity to implement quality services, and are able to operate one or more SHCs. Applicants receiving contracts to operate SHCs must collaborate with school campuses serving students either on campus or be linked to one or more campuses.
The contracting party must be a public or private non-profit institution and must be able to provide access to comprehensive acute, chronic, and preventive healthcare services. Services need to include annual wellness visits in collaboration with not only individual schools, but also local education agencies, primary care and specialty providers, and with other agencies and community-based organizations.
The North Carolina School Health Center’s Request for Application (A-306) is planning to award $1,377,664 to provide medical access to children and adolescents through SHCs. The funding can be used to support personnel, contractual services, medical and office supplies, medical equipment, management information systems, travel and miscellaneous operating expenses.
Go to http://ncdhhs.gov/dph/wch/doc/aboutus/rfa-306/RFA-A306-SchoolHealthCenters.pdf for more information. All applications must be received by the Department of Health and Human Services by January 9, 2015.