Starting a School-Based Clinic
Guidance for Starting a School-Based Clinic
Communities often explore school-based healthcare in partnership between schools/districts and medical organizations. Is your community seeking to open a school-based clinic? We have created three helpful modules with resources to support your efforts.
The guidance provided through the 3 modules below is informed by decades of experience in starting brick-and-mortar, full-service clinics on school grounds. However, we know that not all communities who may benefit from school-based services will start with this design. Youth Healthcare Alliance is committed to gaining knowledge and experience in supporting innovative and creative models of care delivery to further grow access to school-based healthcare through alternative structures, also known as school-linked models. Read more about school-linked models below.
We also offer a variety of expert consultation and facilitation services for communities exploring, starting, and operating clinics. If you’re interested in learning more about how to set up a school-based clinic or exploring alternative school-linked models of care, contact Mariana Ledezma, Director of Community Engagement.
Determine if starting a clinic is right for your school district and how to gain buy-in, including:
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Needs and opportunities assessments
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Factsheets and videos
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Blueprint for clinics
How to begin planning fundamental components necessary to open a clinic, including:
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Workplan and business models
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Organizational chart
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Partnership development and community assessments
Tools to help with preparations for opening your new clinic, including:
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Registration, enrollment, and consent forms
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Facilities and floor plan samples
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Job descriptions and budget templates
School-Linked Models of Care
School-linked models are smaller-scale operations on the school grounds offering primary care, behavioral health, and/or oral health care. This consist of single lines of service, all of which connect back to a medical home, and/or providing care via telehealth or mobile healthcare. These models are beneficial for communities who would like to pilot school-based health work before committing to a full brick-and-mortar clinic, those with small populations, and those who have a specific, narrowly defined need to address using resources available in the community.
CDPHE SBHC Program is working on program definitions, which will be reflected in a pilot grant opportunity in their upcoming Request for Applications set to be released for fall 2027. More information will be provided here once it is public.
In the meantime, these resources will aid communities in considering their options outside of brick-and-mortar clinics.
We are excited to share the resources below to inform organizations interested in using mobile units and telehealth to establish and/or expand school-based health services.
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Telehealth Resources: These resources are meant to support school-linked delivery of care via telehealth as well as to aid existing brick and mortar school-based clinics.
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Mobile Unit Resources:
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Driving Health Forward is a national campaign of organizations and individuals dedicated to promoting healthcare system change to grow the mobile healthcare sector. They provide monthly policy briefs and offer opportunities to learn about and engage in efforts to advance mobile health care.
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Mobile Healthcare Association’s website features resources, lessons form the field, and news related to mobile health. Membership is required for full access to some of the resources.
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The national School-Based Health Alliance (SBHA) published On the Move: Advancing Policy, Financing, and Infrastructure for Sustainable School-Based Mobile Health Care Programs, a resource sharing their findings from a policy and sustainability landscape analysis on mobile delivery of school-based healthcare.
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