The Coordinated Care For The Whole Child™ Program
By bridging the gap between education leaders and health professionals, our program ensures comprehensive care for every child in our partner schools.
OUR APPROACH
The Coordinated Care For The Whole Child™ program has 3 essential components:
Health Screenings
Annual health screenings are a powerful tool and are key to eliminating health barriers to learning for students. HEAL supports basic health screenings in schools for every student, every year. Health screenings include mental health, vision, hearing, dental, immunization compliance, and fitness. Results are always shared with parents and referrals to health care providers are included when needed.
Student Support Teams
This is where the magic happens! Multidisciplinary teams of educators and health care providers collaborate in schools in Student Support Team Meetings to discuss possible classroom modifications and basic services that at-risk students may need to be able to thrive in and out of the classroom. Teams create holistic action plans to address health and academic concerns, including timelines for follow-up. With their health and academic issues being addressed, students have a better chance of succeeding in the classroom.
Program Sustainability
HEAL teaches schools and school districts how to become Medicaid Providers and how to access reimbursement for health services provided to students who have Medicaid. This funding provides sustainability for student health programming provided by a school district. It is important to note that health services provided to students by school districts DO NOT count against a student’s individual Medicaid benefits.
While there are for-profit companies that support schools in securing Medicaid funding, none offer a comprehensive system of healthcare for children in schools.
HEAL is the only organization known to provide a system for schools to address all aspects of childhood health in school. HEAL also teaches schools how to fund the Coordinated Care for the Whole Child™ model permanently and sustainably as part of every school year.
How do schools pay for these healthcare services?
HEAL teaches school districts how to use state education dollars to access federal Medicaid dollars. This does not cost the school or the state any additional money.
These health services provided by in-school providers do not count against a student’s individual Medicaid benefit limit. This means that schools can continue to provide medically necessary health services in the school, using the federal funds to sustain them.
ADVOCATING FOR CHILDREN’S HEALTH
In addition to HEAL’s in-school program implementation, we are continuously engaging in advocacy and education at the state and federal levels, working to broaden the Coordinated Care For The Whole Child™ model and its reach.
On April 24, 2020, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) issued a positive ruling to amend the state’s Medicaid plan, broadening the provisions governing school-based medical services. This means thousands more Louisiana children will receive the health support they need for a bright, healthy future.
How you can help
By making a contribution to HEAL, you give every child in Louisiana the chance to succeed in school and beyond.