Fort Belknap Tribal Health 2022

School-Based Health Program: Pearson Project

The Fort Belknap Indian Community (FBIC) Tribal Health Department, in partnership with the Harlem, Dodson, and Hays-Lodgepole school systems, will begin providing school-based health services. The project aims to improve the health, wellness, and educational systems to support higher academic achievement among all students attending each school. The Tribe will provide behavioral health services and primary care in school-based health centers. The project seeks to improve the overall school climate, enhance the classroom experience for teachers and students, and ultimately reduce student disciplinary referrals and improve academic and health outcomes. Funding will support the contracted position with Xanovea to lead the project and a salaried behavioral health psychologist position. Primary partners are the Office of Public Instruction, the FBIC Tribal Health Department, the FBIC Tribal Council Education Committee, and the Dodson, Harlem, and Hays Lodge Pole Schools. 

Grant Amount

$300,000

Term

36 month

2022

Northern Cheyenne Tribal Board of Health 2021

Northern Cheyenne School Wellness Project

Through this project, the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Board of Health will provide essential mental health and primary care services through a mobile unit and three school-based settings on the Northern Cheyenne Nation. The schools include Northern Cheyenne Head Start, Lame Deer Public Schools, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribal School. The first year of the grant will focus on planning: creating policies and procedures, preparation for on-site care, increasing trauma-informed engagement, measuring school climate, and implementing alternatives to out-of-school discipline policies. The remaining years of the grant will allow for piloting and implementing new health services. Funding will support a project coordinator, community liaison, a mobile clinic, and medical supplies at all three on-site clinic locations. Partners include the three school sites, the Montana State University College of Nursing, and the Montana Office of Public Instruction.

Grant Amount

$274,998

Term

36 months

2021

Partnership Health Center 2021

Building a Comprehensive School-Based Behavioral Health System at Lowell Elementary School

Partnership Health Center is a federally qualified health center located in Missoula with two satellite clinics in Seeley Lake and Superior. Through this grant, Partnership Health Center will provide behavioral health services in Lowell Elementary School, bringing a comprehensive support system for students during classroom time and out-of-school programming. Behavioral health services will focus on prevention and wellness, fostering academic success and healthy social-emotional development. A behavioral health professional at the school will provide individual and group psychotherapy, crisis intervention, and training for school staff, support staff, and student caregivers. Funding will support the behavioral health professional's salary. Primary partners include Lowell Elementary, Missoula County Public Schools, and Missoula Parks and Recreation (the on-site, out-of-school program provider).

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

24 month

2021

Sapphire Community Health, Inc 2021

Ravalli County School Wellness Program

Sapphire Community Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center that provides medical and behavioral health services to the underserved population in Ravalli County. This implementation project will open a school-based health center in two school districts, Hamilton and Victor. Sapphire will provide behavioral health and medical services on designated days of the week at each district. They will provide behavioral health services onsite and medical services in their mobile unit. Funding will support the behavioral health provider/school-based health services coordinator, a nurse, and startup costs and supplies. This project is a close collaboration among Sapphire Community Health, Victor School District, and Hamilton School District.

Grant Amount

$263,273

Term

24 month

2021

Southwest Montana Community Health Center 2021

Kennedy Elementary School-Based Clinic

Southwest Montana Community Health Center (SMCHC) is a federally qualified health center with clinics and pharmacies in Madison, Silver-Bow, Anaconda-Deer Lodge, and Beaverhead counties. This project will develop a school-based health center in Kennedy Elementary School, a school in which nearly 100% of students qualify for free and reduced-price meals and in which many students have low attendance rates. The health center will help improve the students' health, which will support their attendance and education. The health center will provide on-site medical and behavioral health services to students and their families. It will also offer other services like dental screenings, care management, pharmacy, and insurance assistance. Funding will support health center staff and IT services. Kennedy Elementary School (School District No. 1) is the project's primary partner along with other community groups like the local health department and Action Inc.

Grant Amount

$125,000

Term

24 month

2021

Alluvion Health 2020

Alluvion Health Vaugh Schools

Alluvion Health will implement school-based health services, including medical, dental, and behavioral health, in Vaughn Public School. Vaughn Public School is a K-8 school located 15 miles from Great Falls. Alluvion will use a newly acquired mobile unit to provide dental services and provide medical and behavioral health services within the school. Grant funds will cover startup costs including salaries for the staff providing services. The project’s goal is to offer health services to the students and staff members of Vaughn Public School and the surrounding communities of Sun River, Fort Shaw, and Simms and in turn, to improve students’ ability to learn and succeed in school.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2020

Flathead Community Health Center 2020

School Based Health Centers – Primary Care

Flathead Community Health Center (FCHC) will implement school-based medical services at Linderman Alternative High School and Evergreen Schools in Kalispell. Through a previous grant, FCHC is already providing behavioral health services at both schools and has built strong relationships with each school's administration. This project will expand the services the health center offers to include medical care for students, school staff, and the surrounding community. Both schools have begun remodeling to create space for the health center to provide medical services on the school campuses. Grant funds will support staff salaries, including a school-based health center coordinator and primary care provider.

Grant Amount

$150,000

Term

24 month

2020

Montana Office of Public Instruction 2020

School Wellness

The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) will partner with the Montana Healthcare Foundation (MHCF) to support the implementation of a new initiative focused on school wellness. This initiative will support new partnerships between schools and high-performing health care providers (including federally qualified health centers, rural health centers, tribal health departments, and behavioral health providers) to create school-based health centers. The initiative will target roughly 70 schools with the highest concentration of students most in need of services, as judged by academic and health data (including alternative schools and those with the lowest academic performance). OPI will use grant funding to hire a new staff person dedicated to supporting the initiative. As part of this project, OPI will help enlist school participation and provide trauma-informed care training, coaching, and academic data reporting support. They will also help schools plan and implement participation in their Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) for students with behavioral issues, and identify and implement restorative discipline practices. Beyond MHCF and OPI, other partnerships that will be developed include local school districts, clinical service partners, public health, and the School-Based Health Alliance. The project’s overall goal is to improve student health and academic outcomes by providing in-school access to health care services and fostering a supportive school climate.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2020

One Health 2020

Integrated and Sustainable School-Based Health Care in Bighorn County

Bighorn Valley Health Center (BVHC) will begin providing school-based health services in the Hardin High School, Crow Agency Public School, and the Wyola School District. School-based health services – delivered through a combination of in-person and virtual visits – will be available for students, school staff, and the surrounding community. Grant funds will support salaries for project management and partnership liaison staff. The project’s goal is to bring needed health services to rural and frontier communities in the southcentral region of the state.

Grant Amount

$300,000

Term

24 month

2020

Sapphire Community Health, Inc. 2020

Sapphire’s School Wellnes Project

Sapphire Community Health (SCH) will undergo a planning process to implement school-based health services in three school districts in Ravalli County. The school districts include Victor School (a school designated as “comprehensive”), Stevensville Alternative High School, and Hamilton Alternative School. As part of the planning process, SCH will pursue formalized relationships and collaborate with the school districts. Grant funds cover staff costs related to relationship building and planning the implementation of school-based services. Ultimately, SCH intends to use a newly acquired mobile unit to provide medical and behavioral health services to students in these rural communities and in turn, to improve students’ ability to learn and succeed in school.

Grant Amount

$50,000

Term

12 month

2020

Flathead Community Health Center 2019

School Based Health Centers

The Flathead Community Health Center (FCHC) will establish school-based health centers in multiple schools throughout Flathead County. Licensed behavioral health clinicians will be placed in Rankin Elementary, Elrod Elementary, Linderman Alternative Center, East Evergreen Elementary, Evergreen Junior High, Bigfork Middle School, and Bigfork High School. Additionally, FCHC will place primary medical services in Linderman Alternative Center and East Evergreen Elementary. Additional clinical services will be added as the specific needs are determined for schools throughout the project. Funding will contribute to salary support for three new behavioral health providers and a primary care provider, as well as software and project oversight. The project establishes new partnerships among FCHC, Intermountain (a behavioral health provider), and the Flathead, Bigfork, and Evergreen school districts. Also, as a part of this grant, the school will assess and consider updates to school policies and practices to reduce out-of-school suspensions and truancy and increase student engagement. The project’s goal is to improve student health outcomes and attendance, decrease disciplinary events, and increase overall school success.

Grant Amount

$100,000

Term

24 month

2019

Partnership Health Center 2019

Redesigning School Based Behavioral Health at Willard Alternative High School in Missoula, Montana

Partnership Health Center and the Missoula Public Schools will establish a school-based health center at the city's alternative high school. The project will target a high-risk population with over 50% of the students being homeless. The funds will be usedto employ a behavioral health provider at the alternative school and enableschool leadership to participate fully in the project. During the implementation phase, the partners will explore the need for and feasibility of expanding to providing medical and dental services. The grantwill also strengthen the existing school-based health center at Lowell Elementary with goals of expanding school-based health throughout the school district.The Missoula School District utilizesa “multi-tiered system of support”(MTSS) to address social and emotional needs for youth, which is critical to success of the project. The school anticipates thisprogram improving health outcomesand attendance, decreasing disciplinary events, and increasing overall school success.

Grant Amount

$75,000

Term

24 month

2019

PureView Health Center 2019

Implementation of East Helena SBHC

PureView Health Center, Intermountain, andtheEast Helena School District will establish a school-based health center in East Helena.Thisproject establishes new partnerships between PureView (a community health center), Intermountain (a behavioral health provider), and the East Helena School District.The grant will support participation by key leadership, the development of informatics, and training for clinical and medical staff to successfully implement the project.The health center is based in the elementary school but will serve the entire school district and will be open to the public. Medical, behavioral health, and dental serviceswillbe provided.The school anticipates this program will improvehealth outcomesandattendance, decreasedisciplinary events, and increaseoverall school success.

Grant Amount

$70,000

Term

24 month

2019