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BY JANET OJEDA Once known for its high poverty, crime, and substance abuse, the Edgewood community in the southeast section of Atlanta is making a new name for itself by creating a model for community schools and services. The Whitefoord Community Program (WCP), a community-based, community-driven nonprofit organization, strives to empower the residents of the Edgewood community to take charge of themselves, their children, and their community. By working together with families and the community, the WCP ensures that all children in this one-square-mile area have what they need to succeed in school. "Research shows that students need more than just a quality academic program to succeed in school. They need to be healthy to ensure they are able to learn and perform their best," said Carolyn Aidman, the metro Atlanta community facilitator with Family Connection Partnership. "They also need caring adults in their lives to guide and nurture them as they grow, both physically and academically." That's why two schools in the Edgewood community, Whitefoord Elementary and Sammye E. Coan Middle, teamed up with community partners in 1994 to implement the WCP. In addition to two pediatric health clinics—one at each school—and after-school and summer reading programs for children in the community, the program offers job training, parenting classes, GED classes, and computer courses for adults. The WCP was established by the late Dr. George Brumley and Dr. Veda Johnson through the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University. The school-based clinics offer physical, mental health, and oral (dental) health care services and are available to students, and all children in the Whitefoord Community ranging from birth through 18 years of age. "Because these clinics are located within the community, they increase the residents' access to quality healthcare by eliminating many barriers including cost, transportation, and inflexible office hours," said Aidman. "Children receive more regular and preventive healthcare to which they may not have had access prior to the program." The clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year round and is staffed by a pediatrician, a physician's assistant, a registered nurse, a health educator, a social worker/mental health provider, a secretary, a dentist, a dental assistant, and a clerical/billing assistant. After-hour coverage is provided by a nurse triage call system with physician backup. Johnson, the medical director of both clinics, is also a professor of pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine, a grant writer, a fund raiser, and researcher. According to her research, school-based health clinics improve children's school attendance. The most frequent medical cause of school absenteeism in Georgia elementary schools is asthma, followed by dental health problems. When there is a doctor and dentist's office at school, kids are absent less frequently. "Comprehensive school-based health centers help schools implement program to deal with chronic conditions such as asthma, dental health, and obesity," said Aidman. "We hope anyone who is concerned about children who do not have ready access to healthcare will begin to work with their school's Parent Teachers Association, administrators, and community, to determine if a comprehensive school-based health center is right for their community."
You
can learn how a comprehensive school-based health clinic would add
value to your community by attending Johnson's workshop, Improving
Outcomes for Children through Comprehensive School-Based Health
Clinics, at the 2007 Family Connection Conference on October 25.
Visit the Conference
Web site for the full workshop description and to register.
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