Extending the PATH (Pediatric Access to Healthcare)
Grant Status: Completed
Training Category: Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program (HTPCP)
Project Director(s):
Jennifer Reilly-Miller, RN, BSN, MBA
South Broward Hospital District
3501 Johnson Street,
Hollywood, FL 33021-5421
Phone: 954-276-1322
Email: jereilly@mhs.net
Problem:
Adolescence is an important developmental period to promote optimal health and prevent risky behaviors which can place youth at risk for lifelong health problems. In the 2016-2017 school year, there were 236 drug overdoses in children up to the age of 17, and 463 overdoses among those 18 to 30 years of age seen in Memorial's Emergency Rooms. Drugs have a more drastic effect on children and teens than on adults because the brain is still developing; and alcohol and other drugs disrupt this process. Developing brains are also more prone to addiction. At the same time over 32% of students given BMI screenings scored above the 85 percentile, categorized as overweight or obese. Studies show that 60% of overweight children have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease and 25% have two or more risk factors. Obese teenagers also have an 80% chance of being obese into adulthood. Given these alarming statistics, there is a clear need in Broward County to provide safe and healthy environments for students to grow and flourish intellectually, emotionally, and physically.
Goals and Objectives:
Extending the PATH addresses HRSA's goals to improve access to quality healthcare and services for underserved communities and to promote health equity among those most at risk. The proposed program will implement activities in community-based school settings, thereby aligning directly with the Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program (HTPCP) objectives in the following priority areas: (1) School-Based health, (2) Healthy weight promotion, (3) Mental health, (4) Substance use services, and (5) Medical Home engagement. Specific program objectives are: - Expansion of existing Mobile School Based Health Center childhood obesity-related services - Increase in annual access to mental health and substance abuse services - Positive movement towards goals and objectives in the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) and Title V MCH Block Grant data.
Methodology:
Extending the PATH will expand the Mobile School Based Health Center's services to include access to mental health and substance abuse services, and childhood obesity-related services for more than 8,600 underserved elementary and middle school children enrolled at 12 Broward County schools. This will be done with the purchase of Bluetooth scales for Body Mass Index (BMI) screenings, the use of tablets pre-loaded with the Patient Health Questionnaire Modified for Teens (PHQ-9 Modified) to screen for mental health issues and the Brief Screener for Alcohol, Tobacco, and other Drugs (BCTAD) and the Screening to Brief Intervention (S2BI) to determine substance abuse issues, all screening tools endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the US Preventive Services Task Force, and the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse for these students.. BMI screenings will be done for all 1st and 3rd grade elementary and 6th grade middle students within the 12 target schools. The PHQ-9 Modified, the BCTAD) and the S2BI will be administered to 4,089 middle school students at 5 sites. Over 8,600 students will have accurate health screening information in their Cumulative Records
Coordination:
Memorial's Mobile School Based Health Center will work hand in hand with the Broward County School District's Coordinated Student Health Service Department to implement Expanding the PATH. Memorial has enjoyed a 35-year collaboration with Broward County Public Schools (BCPS), delivering in-school behavioral health and prevention education, and addressing issues of concern with students and families through its Community Youth Services Department. The School Board of Broward County oversees BCPS, the 6th largest school district in the nation and the 2nd largest in the state of Florida with more than 271,500 students in 327 schools and centers.
Evaluation:
Memorial is committed to qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the Extending the PATH program to determine service impact and improvements in health. Evaluation activities will be incorporated into the overall project implementation in order to monitor both process and outcome measures throughout the 5- year period of performance.