New Tuscon, Ariz., School-Based Health Clinics To Provide Care for Uninsured, Low-Income Children

Two school-based, low-cost health clinics will open in mid-September in the Tuscon, Ariz., area to provide health care for uninsured children and those without access to care, the Arizona Daily Star reports. The clinics, which will operate in the Sunnyside Unified School District, will provide free or low-cost primary health care for the 5,000 children in the school district without health coverage or access to care. The clinics, part of a partnership between the school district and El Rio Health Center, a federally funded clinic that serves low-income patients in Tucson, will provide services five days per week between the two locations. El Rio will use a $50,000 federal grant to open the clinics in Sunnyside and hopes to receive additional federal grants in future years to open similar clinics in other school districts. The school district will provide space and office equipment for the clinics, and El Rio will provide a pediatrician, a pediatric nurse practitioner and medical equipment. The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state's Medicaid program; KidsCare, the state's CHIP program; or other low-cost health plans will cover the cost of services provided at the clinics for some children. Those without health insurance will pay for the services on a "low-cost, sliding-scale" basis. The school district expects the clinics to provide care for 2,000 children in the first year. El Rio Deputy Director Celia Hightower said, "We really believe in going where the kids are, where families feel safe, and where we can make a difference and keep kids in school and help them learn. This is our mission" (McClain, Arizona Daily Star, 8/19).