January 19, 2007

A Medical Home

School Health LINK at Illini Campus provides students affordable care

SILVIS, IL - A child has a sore throat and runs a temperature all weekend. By the time Monday rolls around, he feels worse and misses school.

Problem is, his self-employed parents are among the 46 million Americans who don’t have health insurance. They don’t have a regular doctor and can’t afford the office visit, strep throat screening, chest X-ray, and antibiotics their son will need to get better.

Fortunately for them, School Health LINK can help their son get well and back to school soon – at a cost tailored to their financial situation. By providing health care regardless of income and insurance, the LINK is helping to decrease school absenteeism and keep Rock Island County youngsters well.

School Health LINK has two locations – one at the Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus in Silvis and the other at the Blackhawk Medical Building, 2508 25th St., in Rock Island.

Keeping kids in school

“Without money for treatment, this child might not be in school all week,” said Sally O’Donnell, director of school health programs for the Rock Island Health Department. “With School Health LINK, he gets treated and misses only two days of school. We’ve helped the family — and the school.”

Preventative care and early treatment for children are especially important, she said. For example, infants with stomach flu who receive appropriate primary care can avoid being hospitalized for dehydration. Treating bronchitis early can help avoid more expensive hospitalization for pneumonia. And early identification of children who have chronic illnesses, such as asthma, results in fewer expensive emergency room and inpatient care visits, she added.

New statistics show that each year the state’s 37 school health centers save Illinois $585,000-$855,000 in hospitalization costs for asthmatics; an estimated $2.5 million in reduced emergency room visits; and $1.77 million by providing immunizations.

School Health LINK opened its first clinic in 1995 when school nurses noticed students missing school because they didn’t have a physician when they were sick. Maybe they had just moved to town and didn’t yet have their Medicaid card, or doctors refused to see them because they had missed so many appointments or hadn’t paid previous bills.

In its first year, the LINK provided health care to 300 Rock Island County students. That number more than doubled to 1,000 in year two. To meet growing demand, the LINK opened its Rock Island clinic in 2000. Each year, an estimated 7,500 children and teens receive care.

A community effort

“The nurses in the schools, who are our best friends and gatekeepers, refer a lot of kids to us,” O’Donnell said. “We always try to refer kids back to their own physicians. If they don’t have a doctor, then we become their medical home.”

Even families with a physician will come to the LINK to help meet a time-sensitive requirement that all children entering kindergarten and fifth grade receive physicals and immunizations.

In the past year, School Health LINK has been involved in Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s statewide All Kids campaign to help every family in the state get health care for their children. All Kids covers immunizations, doctor visits and many other health care services, such as hospital stays, prescription drugs, vision care, and dental care, as well as eyeglasses and asthma inhalers. The state covers the difference between what the parents contribute in monthly premiums and the actual cost of providing health care for each child.

“Oftentimes it is difficult for families to find health care coverage,” O’Donnell said. “Some of our families have enrolled in the All Kids program, and the parents are very satisfied.”

The LINK is run by five local sponsoring agencies: United Township High School, the Rock Island County Health Department, Rock Island Schools, Trinity Medical Center and Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus, which offers a building at 1504 10th St. free-of-charge and performs tests at public aid rates.

About School Health LINK

At School Health LINK, students in Rock Island County schools can receive regular check-ups, sports physicals, immunizations, blood lead screenings, TB skin tests, counseling, health education, vision and hearing referrals and follow-up, dental education and referral, and emergency care and referral. Students with chronic medical problems, such as asthma or diabetes, get help with their medication and regular checkups.

Fees are on a sliding-fee scale. No one is denied care based on an inability to pay. Information: Call School Health LINK at (309) 792-6360 in Silvis or (309) 732-0958 in Rock Island to make an appintment or enroll your family in the All Kids state health care program. To find out more about All Kids, go to www.allkids.com.

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