Partnerships
Apex
As part of the Health Equity Grant, PSBHA wanted to provide a technical solution to collect and report data to support a range of evaluation activities from accountability and compliance to quality improvement and learning for state and local stakeholders. We entered a partnership with Apex to create The Data Hub, which consolidates, streamlines, standardizes and sustains reporting across Pennsylvania's school-based health centers.
Apex works with organizations that are addressing barriers to health, academic, and social success for vulnerable populations. They start with data and end with insight and use thinking supported by technology, combining the best of both to create change. They believe that evaluation empowers individuals and communities to grow from vulnerability to resilience to thriving.
To learn more about Apex, please visit apexeval.org
The Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners
Founded in 1985, the mission of the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners (PASNAP) is to provide the structure and leadership necessary to promote unity among all certified school nurses and practitioners, to advance the professional practice of school health through continuing education, improving political awareness, and promotion of school nursing to optimize student health and learning. PASNAP is a leader in advocacy for school health, ensuring that students are healthy, safe and ready to learn.
In June, PSBHA and the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners (PASNAP) joined forces to call attention to the lack of funding for school-based services. School nurses and school-based health centers work together to share a critical mission: protecting and advancing the health and well-being of Pennsylvania’s school-age children. One does not replace the need for the other. Each has a distinct and complementary function.
Center for Rural Pennsylvania
The Center for Rural Pennsylvania is a bipartisan, bicameral legislative agency that serves as a resource for rural policy within the Pennsylvania General Assembly. It was created by Act 16 of 1987, the Rural Pennsylvania Revitalization Act. The Center works with the legislature, educators, state and federal executive branch agencies, and national, statewide, regional and local organizations to maximize resources and strategies that can better serve Pennsylvania's nearly 3.4 million rural residents.
For the first time, PSBHA partnered with the Center for Rural Pennsylvania to look at a number of data points, including community indicators, rural school districts and health providers to review healthcare outcomes for youth in rural areas. The report shows that youth with limited access to quality healthcare suffer from decreased academic performance. It provides a roadmap of where SBHCs could really make an impact and create better student outcomes.