BEAUMONT, TEEN HEALTH CENTER AND TRUMAN honored with award

The Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) recently announced the winners of its 2016 Ludwig Community Benefit Award during the MHA Annual Membership Meeting, which included the Beaumont-Taylor Teen Health Center affiliate partnering with Truman High School.

Honored were programs led by Beaumont Hospital, Taylor; Bronson Battle Creek; and Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital, Charlotte.

The award is named in memory of Patric E. Ludwig, a former MHA president who championed investing in the community’s overall health, and is presented to member organizations integrally involved in collaborative programs to improve the health and well-being of area residents.

Each winner will receive $3,000 from the MHA Health Foundation to assist in its health improvement efforts.

Part of Beaumont Health, Beaumont Hospital, Taylor; its Taylor Teen Health Center; and the Taylor School District partnered to help students stay in school and improve their chances for academic success through the School Wellness Program at Harry S. Truman High School.

Most of the children attending the school live in a medically underserved area that includes large numbers of uninsured and Medicaid patients. 

Since November 2011, free services have been provided on-site during all school hours by registered nurses and Licensed Master of Social Work counselors.

The nurses provide services for acute illness and first aid; blood pressure monitoring; HIV testing and counseling; immunization assessment and administration; vision exams and eyeglass certificates; dental referrals; individual health education and counseling; and management of chronic conditions. One educational component is a student nutrition group initially intended to support diabetic students; it became so popular that non-diabetic students asked and were permitted to join. The social work counselors provide services based on the mental health needs of the students. 

More than 8,000 medical visits and 2,600 mental health visits have taken place at the school, and 97 percent of these visits resulted in the student returning to class and staying in school. Many of these vulnerable children would be unlikely to access physical or mental health services without the on-site services of the school wellness program.

For more information on the School Wellness Program at Harry S. Truman High School, contact Jeffrey Cook, director, school-based health at the Taylor Teen Health Center, at (734) 942-2273.