SBHC DAY a huge success!
Kitzhaber endorses school-based health care!

This was the message delivered by OPB News on the evening of February 9, just a few short hours after 100 youth advocates for school-based health care met with the Governor at the Capitol.

Read or listen to the report here.  

Courtesy of Chris Lehman OPB News.

According to Chris Lehman, with OPB News, "Backers of the school-based health centers got a morale boost Wednesday when Governor John Kitzhaber addressed a rally in their support.  (The Governor) assured a gathering of high schoolers he's committed to their school clinics."

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for photos and video footage on the Network website, at www.osbhcn.org. 

As you will recall, we began the year with the Oregon Health Authority calling for a 39%, or $2.3 million cut to SBHC general funds for the upcoming biennium.

At our SBHC Advocacy Day on February 9, Governor Kitzhaber announced: "We get the biggest bang for our buck by investing in the success of kids early on." And he shows his support in his proposed budget by slashing the general funds cut to $500,000 for SBHCs. 

While the news is getting better, there is still more to do.

Even a half million dollar cut can mean that 38% of SBHCs will reduce hours or days of service.  Together, we are accomplishing much, and with our unified efforts, we will work through this upcoming legislative session, building on our record of success. 

Please continue to support the collective voice for SBHC systems improvement, fiscal support and policy advocacy that leads to better outcomes of health for more students, in more places, across Oregon.

Read the Network's Policy Agenda Here. 

Network's Youth Advisory Council wins $500 Award from DoSomething.org

Elizabeth Guzman, the Advisor for the Network's State-wide Youth Advisory Council, was recognized by DoSomething.org for her youth powered project to raise awareness of the need for school-based health centers in Oregon.

Read more about her plans to use the grant money here!

Congratulations to EAGLE POINT HS for your SBHC Open House YESTERDAY!

The center received great media coverage in the Upper Rogue Independent!  Read the article about Eagle Point here! 

Canby High School SBHC Youth Advisory Board builds successful awareness campaign

After members of the Youth Advisory Board at Canby HS attended the SBHC annual conference last October, they returned to their school with newly gained knowledge about the high rate of teen suicide nation-wide. 

Talk About It.  They planned and coordinated a highly effective awareness campaign encouraging their peers to talk about it.  Their message included and highlighted their SBHC as a resource that was easily accessed and available for all.

They received the support of the school's teachers, who wore "Talk About It" buttons every day for a week and were prepared to share information about services offered at the school's SBHC.  The Advisory Board made short videos promoting their SBHC.

The talk about it campaign coincided with Oregon's SBHC Awareness Month in January, and was a great success.  It attracted media attention resulting in a very detailed account in the Canby Herald.  You can read it here.

One Day Workshop - March 22, 2011
Partner Violence, Reproductive Coercion, and Unintended Pregnancy: Implications for Prevention and Intervention
 
Who: 

This course is designed for licensed clinical providers such as nurse practitioners and other midlevel clinicians, RNs and public health nurses, as well as community educators, clinical and program managers, youth development workers, and others who work with adolescents in family planning or other community service settings.

About:

This course will explore the link between intimate partner violence and women's reproductive health. Intimate partner violence (IPV), birth control sabotage and other forms of reproductive coercion present unique challenges for intervention as well as prevention.  Strategies from a community-based family planning clinic intervention to reduce partner violence will be presented. In addition, the unique characteristics of adolescent relationship abuse, and the ways to integrate relationship abuse education into existing adolescent health programs (including pregnancy prevention), will be explored.

Get more info here!

Presented by: Center for Health Training in collaboration with Oregon Health Authority, Public Health Division, Maternal and Child Health Section.

Federal Policy Update
Courtesy of NASBHC 

This week Congress will vote to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from programs that help support school-based health centers (SBHCs) and that keep students healthy and learning. These cuts are being proposed at the same time that many states are cutting their SBHC funding.

SBHCs provide care in a location that meets children and adolescents where they are: at school. Multiple studies have shown SBHCs to be a cost-effective investment in child and adolescent health - reducing the utilization of emergency rooms, improving health outcomes, and elevating school attendance and graduation.

WRITE YOUR REPRESESENTATIVES! TELL THEM SBHCS KEEP STUDENTS HEALTHY AND LEARNING!

Here's how you can follow up on your email with a phone call to your Representative!

Call the Switchboard at the House of Representative at (202) 225-3121, and ask for your Representative's office.

TALKING POINTS FOR YOUR CALL

1. Start by saying you are a constituent of Representative [Name]; mention the name of your town.
2. You are calling to express your opposition to the budget cuts proposed by the House Appropriations Committee, particularly the funding for cuts for Maternal and Child Block Grants, Family Planning Grants, and grants for Community Health Centers.
3. You are especially concerned about the impact of the cuts on the health of children and adolescents served by school-based health centers, which are dependent on these funds.
4. Say your connection to school-based health centers. For example, "I am a nurse working at the school-based health center located at Washington High School in Springfield. We serve [number] of students every year who depend on us for their primary health care."
5. School-based health centers keep students healthy and learning. Congress needs to support programs that help students succeed!
6. Representative [Name] should vote no on these harsh budget cuts. We shouldn't balance the budget on the backs of students.
7. Thank the person you speak with for his or her time.

NASBHC seeks Policy Assistant

The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) is seeking a Policy Assistant to inform and advance NASBHC's federal policy agenda before Congress, executive agencies, allied organizations, its state affiliates and the public. The Policy Assistant will report to the Director of Policy and Advocacy.

Read more here.