United Health Foundation https://unitedhealthgroup.com within UnitedHealth Group, awarded a 3 year $3.4 million grant to Children’s National Hospital to provide care in D.C’s under resourced communities https://childrensnational.org for school-aged children.
The grant funding is used to bring together a team of school nurses in D.C. Public Schools plus community health workers and mobile medical services to help out in wards 7 and 8 which face some of the largest health inequities in Washington D.C.
School nurses employed by Children’s School services will work with community health workers to connect children and families to mobile health services and to Children’s National primary care locations and federally qualified health centers.
Health records, immunization records, and attendance data will be accessible through data sharing. Children will receive well-child visits, including vaccinations and vision, hearing, behavioral health, and developmental screenings. Additionally, via telemedicine, community health workers will be able to link children to specialists to address behavioral health, asthma, and other pressing health needs.
The goal is to reduce school absenteeism among chronically absent students by connecting families to health supports and social services. The plan is to focus on increasing the number of children who are up to date on vaccinations and provide 6,000 vaccinations over three years. Additionally, those who screen positive for mental or behavioral health issues will be referred to mental health specialists.