Without healthcare, it is impossible to live a healthy life. Barriers to care can range between transportation, cost, mistrust, and more. When we address access challenges, we can help advance health equity for underserved communities and prepare kids for success.
Basic healthcare increases the likelihood kids succeed in school, graduate from high school and attend college, earn higher wages, and grow up into healthy adults.
In Michigan, 50%
of kids were covered
by Medicaid in 2022.
In Wayne County, 70%
of kids were covered by
Medicaid in 2022.
The Foundation’s investments in school-based health centers address health equity and access by bringing healthcare services to kids, right where they are. This increases school attendance, helps eligible students enroll in health insurance, reduces emergency room visits, and more.
Staff at the centers treat common ailments, administer vaccinations, screen for dental, vision and hearing, provide mental health care, behavioral health assessments and reproductive health care.
Since 2011, the Children’s Foundation has supported the Hamtramck School-Based Health Center (HSBHC) which serves as a critical resource for uninsured legal immigrant families – 70% of its population.
In Michigan, only legal immigrants of five years are eligible for Medicaid coverage, creating challenges for kids to get immunizations needed to attend school. Because HSBC provides free services, such challenges are eliminated.
In 2023, the Foundation established a partnership with Detroit Public Schools Community District, to bring access to wrap-around healthcare to the district’s nearly 49,000 students. Foundation support enabled the first of 12 Health Hubs at Central High School – a one-stop-shop of needs for the students that feed into its enrollment and their families. In addition, we allowed for continuation of school nurses at five schools after pandemic-related funding ended. This includes a telehealth pilot program allowing virtual consultations with a live physician, so kids receive necessary prescriptions.
OUR MISSION
The Children’s Foundation is a catalyst for change, partnering with the community to advance solutions and discoveries that improve the physical and mental health of children in Michigan.
