Connecticut Association of School Based Health Centers, Inc.

CASBHC’s vision is that all children and adolescents in Connecticut are healthy and achieving at their fullest potential. CASBHC works towards this vision by supporting a large and growing network of school based health centers. 

Connecticut's School Based Health Centers (SBHCs) are comprehensive primary health care facilities licensed as outpatient clinics or as hospital satellites. The SBHCs are located within or on school grounds and serve students in grades pre-K-12. The health centers are staffed by multi-disciplinary teams of pediatric and adolescent health specialists, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, social workers, physicians and in some cases, dentists and dental hygienists.  A school based health center is not the same as the school nurse's office. School nurses and SBHCs work together, and school nurses often refer students to SBHCs because they are able to treat and resolve student health problems.

CASBHC is a membership organization formed in 1994 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency to support the establishment, funding, and professional skills of the school based health centers.

CASBHC has successfully built strong support for the school based health centers from Connecticut’s legislature, Commissioners of state departments, and other policy makers. CASBHC is a state affiliate of the national school based health center organization (the School-Based Health Alliance). Through CASBHC’s work, Connecticut is recognized as a national leader in the development and quality of its school based health centers.

CASBHC convenes training events for school based health center staff, as well as convening a well-attended annual conference. These events help keep Connecticut’s centers at the forefront of best practices for health care for children and adolescents.

CASBHC initiatives in the past two years have included:

·      Person-Centered Medical Homes: CASBHC was a pilot state for the development of NCQA recognized School Based Medical Home designation.

·      Connecticut School Based Health Center Advisory Committee: CASBHC is an appointed member of this legislatively-mandated committee to advise the Commissioner of Public Health on statutory and regulatory matters pertaining to school based health.

·      National Policy Collaborative: one of four states to participate in a national collaborative addressing policy changes to benefit and sustain SBHCs, resulting in passage of an SBHC definition in state statute.

·      Oral Health Advocacy: collaborated with multiple partners to impact oral health in Medicaid and commercial insurance; developed a first-ever guide to school based dental services in Connecticut.

·      National and State-Based Quality Initiatives: one of four states to test national performance standards for SBHCs; continued a state-specific quality improvement initiative with 20 SBHC sites in Connecticut