Advancing student health: The L.A. Trust hosts the Wellness Network Learning Collaborative
The Wellness Network Learning Collaborative includes administrators, clinicians, and student health advocates.
This past month of June, The L.A. Trust hosted the Wellness Network Learning Collaborative at the California Endowment in Downtown Los Angeles. The conference was a full house of over 100 enthusiastic administrators, clinicians, and student health advocates. Participants were thrilled to reconnect at the semi-annual event, centered around the exchange of valuable insights and best practices aimed at enhancing student health throughout L.A. Unified.
Dr. Ron Tanimura, Director of Student Medical Services at L.A. Unified, provided updates on LAUSD Student Medical Services and Medi-Cal Programs. He announced that all students from K-12 will now receive a vision screening at school, with opt-out consent. This will enable more students to receive examinations unless parents specifically opt out. He also briefly discussed The L.A. Trust's new Data xChange Impact Report for School Based Health Centers, which presented data on unique patient visits, services provided, demographics, and more for the 2021-2022 school year. His presentation concluded with an overview of the aggregated report cards for the 17 Wellness Centers, designed for school principals, parents, and students.
During the meeting, staff from each Wellness Center reviewed and discussed the Wellness Report Cards. LAUSD Organization Facilitators examined measures related to health authority, integrated programming, marketing and recruitment, shared outcomes, and staff collaboration. The L.A. Trust staff provided updates on the Student Advisory Boards and a recap of the Youth-to-Youth Health Summit. Additionally, they discussed the upcoming expectations for ongoing initiatives such as the Youth Mental Health Collaborative’s three-year plan and expanding dental partnerships for Oral Health.
The collaborative looked at data for the wellness centers and learned about policies that will benefit their respective communities.
Gabby Tilley, Senior Policy Manager for the L.A. Trust, provided an update on the legislative landscape for school-based health centers, focusing on four high-priority bills. She also shared information on the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative that includes $4.4 billion to transform youth-serving behavioral health systems. Following Tilley, Maggie Yu-DiPasquale led an energizing mid-meeting session of movement and stretching. The meeting concluded with a fun and competitive game of Jeopardy, adding an enjoyable and interactive element.
The Wellness Network Learning Collaborative conference proved to be a remarkable event, fostering the exchange of knowledge and best practices among administrators, clinicians, and student health advocates. The conference truly encompassed a holistic approach to student health and left participants energized and inspired to continue their impactful work. We look forward to the next Wellness Network Learning Collaborative conference. See you there!