Tackling chlamydia through data, screening, and education

Data from The L.A. Trust Data xChange showing St. John’s chlamydia screening rates from 2018 – 2023.

Chlamydia is the most reported sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States and California, particularly among females ages 15-24. According to the California Department of Public Health's STI Surveillance report, there were 190,806 reported cases of chlamydia in 2021, highlighting the pressing need for effective screening and education. The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health (The L.A. Trust) recognizes this is an urgent public health issue and advocates for sexual and reproductive health by promoting chlamydia screenings at school Wellness Centers.

Recent data reveals that many individuals infected with chlamydia are asymptomatic, which can lead to serious health complications if the infection is left untreated. The L.A. Trust is committed to changing this narrative through education and proactive measures. By receiving screenings, treatment, and vital information, students gain access to the resources they need to maintain their health and well-being.

A Data-Driven Approach to Screening and Intervention

In partnership with school Wellness Centers and School-Based Health Centers, The L.A. Trust facilitates the collection of critical student health data through its innovative Data Xchange platform. This tool enables centers to track screening rates, identify trends, and monitor outcomes, ensuring that interventions are timely and effective. By using data-driven insights, The L.A. Trust and its partners can more precisely target outreach and screening efforts, making sure that students who are most at risk receive the care they need.

Leadership in Chlamydia Screening: St. John's Community Health

St. John’s Community Health has emerged as a leader in addressing the challenge of chlamydia screening among adolescents. Under the guidance of Dr. Sushant Bandarpalle and Linh Phan, St. John's implemented a strategic STI Screening Improvement Project that has significantly increased chlamydia screening rates within Wellness Centers and School-Based Health Centers. As highlighted in this recent Best Practices to Improve Chlamydia Screening Brief, their approach focuses on enhancing clinical protocols, continuous training, and ongoing monitoring, which are essential for ensuring that young people receive appropriate care. As Dr. Bandarpalle explains, "Successful diagnosis and treatment are really a testament to the provider-patient relationship and the provider's comfort level in educating our patients. Our approach to driving these measures focused on enhancing our EMR systems and creating a well-supported space for providers to enhance their delivery of the patient's sexual health."

Student Advisory Board members at Mendez High School.

Empowering Students through Education and Peer Advocacy

Beyond clinical initiatives, The L.A. Trust believes in empowering students through education. Maryjane Puffer, Executive Director of The L.A. Trust, emphasizes the importance of these initiatives: “Empowering students with access to education, screenings, and treatment is crucial for their success and well-being. We believe that by promoting sexual and reproductive health, we’re not just improving individual lives but also enhancing the overall health of our communities.”

The L.A. Trust’s Student Advisory Board (SAB) members play a vital role in educating their peers and advocating for essential services like chlamydia screenings and HPV vaccinations. Our SAB members actively engage with their peers to educate them on the importance of STI prevention and screenings. Through outreach initiatives, these young advocates help demystify health services and promote healthy decision-making within their communities.


Best Practices to Improve Chlamydia Screening Brief

Jordan Wellness Center reopens, restoring vital services to the community

Katherine Castro, a senior at Jordan High School and a member of the Student Advisory Board.

The Jordan Wellness Center at Jordan High School in Watts was officially reopened by UMMA (University Muslim Medical Association) this past August, marking a milestone for the school and the community. After being closed due to challenges that came with the pandemic, the Wellness Center is back in operation, offering essential health services to students, families, and community members.

At the reopening ceremony, Katherine Castro, a senior at Jordan High School and a member of our Student Advisory Board shared her journey as a student advocate. “Today is such a proud moment for me, and it’s right up there with one of my best experiences—advocating for this Wellness Center,” Katherine said in her speech. She recounted how she and other students worked with school leadership to address the need for high-quality healthcare services in the area. “Many people around here don’t have access to healthcare services, and we knew how important it was to push for this Wellness Center to open.”

Katherine also highlighted the specific needs this center will meet for students, such as having access to physical checkups without needing to leave campus and providing contraceptives in a trusted space. “Many students don’t know where to go, can’t afford them, or feel uncomfortable asking their parents,” she explained, emphasizing the critical role the center will play.

The L.A. Trust is incredibly proud of Katherine’s leadership and advocacy in pushing for the reopening of this vital resource for her school and community. Her determination and hard work exemplify the power of student voices in bringing about real change.

Katherine Castro with LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.

The center’s reopening is a celebration of returning services but also a much-needed lifeline for the community. Watts has long been underserved, with limited access to healthcare providers. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and UMMA Community Clinic CEO Adel Syed joined local leaders to commemorate the occasion, stressing the importance of the clinic in addressing health challenges that often prevent students from fully participating in their education.

The newly reopened center offers a wide range of services, including physicals, behavioral health support, and dental care. With an expected 1,000 patients per month, the clinic will serve both students and community members, fostering a sense of trust and support.

“This reopening represents a crucial step in our commitment to bridging the gap in healthcare access for students and families in underserved areas,” said Maryjane Puffer, Executive Director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health. “The Jordan Wellness Center will once again be a trusted resource where students can thrive, knowing they have the care they need right on their school campus.”

The Jordan Wellness Center is once again poised to provide a safe and trusted space for the people of Watts, ensuring that healthcare is accessible to those who need it most.

Elevating student voices at the LAUSD Health Collaborative

Nathalie Galvan, Destiny Ramirez, and Thomas Rodriguez

On January 10th, Mendez High School Student Advisory Board (SAB) members Nathalie Galvan, Destiny Ramirez, and Thomas Rodriguez were among the panelists at the LAUSD Health Collaborative held at the California Endowment. The gathering was an exceptional opportunity for student health and educational leaders across Los Angeles County to come together; they shared unique perspectives, pitched innovative ideas, and engaged in constructive criticism among like-minded professionals.

This year’s event sought to elevate youth voices and learn from students how to best serve their health needs. Far too often student voices are left out of these important conversations.

The Mendez High School SAB members spoke to the audience about barriers they and their peers face when receiving services from school-based healthcare. They shed light on prevalent health concerns within their communities and provided valuable feedback on strategies to make healthcare more accessible to youth. Their contributions underscored the importance of early access to healthcare services through schools, and the need for more education in enrollment for comprehensive dental health coverage.

Thomas Rodriguez providing valuable feedback as a panelist.

Student Thomas Rodriguez reflected on the event saying, "I had a lot of fun and I'm even more interested in public health!" His enthusiasm underscores the impact of including student voices in these discussions.

LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho emphasized the importance of forming partnerships with compassionate care providers, and LAUSD Chief Medical Director Dr. Malhotra discussed the value of data in driving change. Alongside them, The L.A. Trust board member Dr. Rebecca Dudovitz, a UCLA pediatrician and researcher, highlighted how social determinants of health affect student attendance and healthcare outcomes.

The event concluded on an empowering note, leaving attendees inspired by the youths’ perspectives and invigorated to break the silos in school-based health. It was a call to action for deeper collaboration, and a reminder of the overall purpose in the room - to serve their community.

The youth leaders left the event feeling heard, valued, and inspired. They advocated for themselves and their needs, and engaged with professionals who have the power to make the changes they need. This LAUSD Health Collaborative was a testament to the importance of youth voice and working collaboratively towards a healthier future for our students.

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!

Wellness Center report cards show improvements

School-based administrators, clinicians, and student health advocates from Los Angeles school-based Wellness Centers shared best practices for student health.

This past October The L.A. Trust hosted the Wellness Network Learning Collaborative conference at the California Endowment in Downtown Los Angeles. It was the first in-person conference in two years, and administrators, clinicians, and student health advocates were excited to see each other away from the computer monitor. The semi-annual event focused on sharing best practices for increasing student health across L.A. Unified.

Spotlight on SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment)

The highlight of the Learning Collaborative featured Dr. Barth-Rogers, chief medical officer of the UMMA Wellness Center at Fremont High School in South Los Angeles. She provided an update on the UMMA Clinic’s best practices in harm-reduction and incorporating SBIRT through the Wellness & Adolescent Substance Use Prevention (WASUP) Project. Dr. Barth-Rogers said, “I think collecting the data is one of the most challenging aspects of the screening process, and we are still improving.” She continued, “At UMMA, it's really important for us as an organization to have accurate and reliable data, and we are constantly monitoring the data to make improvements.”

Wellness Center Report Cards

L.A. Unified’s Dr. Ron Tanimura, Director of Student Medical Services, provided an update on the 17 Wellness Centers with an aggregated report card that showed a 63% increase in overall student visits. Each Wellness Center representative pored over reports on their Wellness Centers’ data provided by The L.A. Trust’s Data xChange for the school year 2021-2022. Data included statistics on unique patient visits, services provided, demographics and more. Dr. Tanimura led the discussion on Wellness Center metrics and discussed the history and future of the Wellness Network. He thanked The L.A. Trust for gathering and presenting these metrics and emphasized the importance of reliable data. “We can’t tell a story without this type of data.”

Feedback and discussion on the Wellness Report Cards was led by LAUSD’s Gloria Velasquez, Organization Facilitator for Student Medical Services and Alex Zepeda, Senior Data & Research Analyst at the L.A. Trust. Marsha Ellis, Director of Programs from The L.A. Trust and Victor Luna, Organization Facilitator, LAUSD helped round out the meeting by clarifying the process for the School Integration Tool.

Moving Forward

Senior Policy Manager, Gabby Tilley brought some clarity on the legislative landscape for school-based health centers. Maryjane Puffer, Executive Director for The L.A. Trust, provided updates on what to expect in the coming months with ongoing initiatives, including the Youth Mental Health Collaborative, Data xChange expansion, Rapid Adolescent Prevention Screening (RAAPS) and the Oral Health Initiative. 

Attendees were excited to see friends and colleagues in person after more than two years. The group came together for student health and were inspired by the work that has been done and invigorated by the work that still needs to be done. We look forward to the next Wellness Network Learning Collaborative in June 2023. See you there!

Student health community addresses ‘the new normal’ under COVID

Participants weighed in on what strategies might be most effective in connecting students to healthcare services in the coming year. 

More than 60 members of the Los Angeles student health community — including healthcare providers, Healthy Start coordinators, Los Angeles Unified organization facilitators and board members and staff from The L.A. Trust — discussed student health in “the new normal” of COVID-19 at the Wellness Network Learning Collaborative October 14, 2021 online.

Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health, opened the meeting with a definition of health equity adapted by from a paper from Paula Braveman of UC San Francisco: “Health equity means everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.”

Victor Luna, organization facilitator for L.A. Unified Student Health and Human Services, conducted the meeting’s ice-breaking exercise and introduced Dr. Ron Tanimura, LAUSD director of Student Medical Services & Medi-Cal Programs.  

Tanimura said the district’s goal in during the ongoing pandemic was “to keep schools as open as normal as possible.” He announced new vaccination and testing deadlines for “all those crossing our threshold more than once a week,” including students. He noted that current protocols had resulted in a “very low” positivity rate of less than 0.12% among the 100,000 tested by the district each week. Tanimura also announced that all L.A. Unified Student Medical Services and Medi-Cal Programs would be overseen by Los Angeles Medical Director Smita Malhotra, a well-known pediatrician and author.

Tested new tool

Luna and Alex Zepeda, senior data and research analyst for The L.A. Trust, shared new results from the School-Based Health Center Integration Tool developed by Dr. Kenny Farenchak in conjunction with The L.A. Trust, L.A. Unified and other partners. It examines areas like outreach, collaboration and integration, rating factors such as,“SBHC conducts active outreach” and “SBHC successfully enrolls students (identified in screenings) in services.” Zepeda and Luna showed pilot test results from several SBHCs, and participants discussed how to use the tool in breakout rooms. Puffer said, “This tool is tested and validated and will support all our work together.” 

Gloria Velasquez, organization facilitator for L.A. Unified, said the great challenge facing the district’s student healthcare system was getting students referred to the right provider. She referenced a Student Health and Human Services Resource Guide with comprehensive listings, including hotlines and direct contacts for site leaders.

Results from The L.A. Trust Data xChange showed that L.A. Unified’s Wellness Centers conducted 57,406 encounters with 22,018 patients during 2020-2021, just 2% fewer than the previous academic year, even though many clinics were closed and most students were not on campus. The Data xChange numbers included detailed data by Wellness Center, though direct comparisons between sites are difficult  due to different pandemic schedules, reporting methods and populations. “These numbers demonstrate the vital resource that Wellness Centers represent to students and families during this time of crisis,” Puffer said.

Student mental health

The mental health and well-being of students has gained greater urgency during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Data xChange reported a total of 13,256 student and 2,218 non-student mental health encounters during 2020-2021 at the seven Wellness Centers providing data to LAUSD School Mental Health. “The need to collect comprehensive mental health data is critical,” Puffer noted. “This is just a start.”

Los Angeles Unified is spending $170 million to provide more mental health counselors at schools to help students process the anxiety and trauma of the past year, the district has announced. Students with learning differences and disabilities will benefit from a separate $140 million investment, which will allow staff to quickly update Individualized Education Programs and provide more direct services to students.

Youth are actively participating as mental health advocates. Student Advisory Board members and Adult Allies are collaborating with staff from The L.A. Trust,  Department of Mental Health Community Ambassador Network (CAN), and L.A. Unified on monthly social media events focused on mental health topics, including suicide prevention (September) and healthy relationships (October).

Building bridges at CSHA

Maryjane Puffer provided an overview of The L.A. Trust, including a new organization chart showing eight new staff members, an update on The L.A. Student Mental Health Initiative and several major new grants.

She announced this year’s School Health Conference sponsored by the California School-Based Health Alliance — “Building Bridges to Healthy and Resilient Communities” — which will be held online November 2-4. Members of The L.A. Trust community can email info@thelatrust.org for a promotion code reducing the cost of registration.

Puffer ended her update by reminding participants that CVS had donated a large quantity of hand sanitizers and wipes to L.A. Unified for use by Wellness Centers and others. Complete this form to obtain needed supplies.

The L.A. Trust adds eight new staff for engagement, data and policy

New team members (back row from left): Ifrah Moalin, Gabby Tilley, Taylour Johnson, Noe Rivera, Jasmine Cisneros and Alex Zepeda. Front: Casey Balverde and Katie Melara. 

The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health has onboarded eight new team members, expanding its scope and nearly doubling its full-time staff to 20. 

“This is the biggest growth initiative in The L.A. Trust's 20-year history,” noted Board President Will Grice of Kaiser Permanente. “These new team members will allow The L.A. Trust to expand policy development, advocacy, prevention education and student engagement.” 

The new team members are Casey Balverde, data and research analyst; Jasmine Cisneros, program associate; Taylour Johnson, program associate; Katie Melara, program coordinator; Ifrah Moalin, health educator; Noe Rivera, senior program manager, mental health; Gabby Tilley, senior policy manager; and Alex Zepeda, senior data and research analyst (previously announced).  

“This is a trained and talented team,” noted Executive Director Maryjane Puffer. Balverde is pursuing her doctorate in public health and worked as a health educator for L.A. County Department of Public Health. Rivera has a master’s degree in applied psychology and more than eight years of experience in behavioral health services. Moalin is an experienced health educator with a degree in public health from Cal State Northridge. Tilley is a former policy advocate for Nourish California with a master’s degree in public policy from USC.

Half of the new team members will serve on The L.A. Trust’s student engagement team: Cisneros will serve as an Adult Ally for Student Advisory Boards at Jordan and Locke High Schools; Johnson will assist SABs at Santee and Carson; Melara will serve the SABs at Elizabeth Learning Center and Garfield High; and Ifrah Moalin will assist student health advocates on the Monroe High campus. They join Program Manager Mackenzie Scott, Adult Ally serving Crenshaw and Washington Prep; Robert Renteria, senior program manager for student engagement and physical health; and Program Manager Esther Yepez, Adult Ally serving Belmont High, on the student engagement team. 

“These investments in student engagement, research and policy mean The L.A. Trust will impact more students, implement more programs and impact policy in new and powerful ways,” Puffer said. “I have never been more excited about the future of The L.A. Trust and the prospects for improving student healthcare in Los Angeles.” 

The L.A. Trust honors Beutner and Dr. Yonekura at gala

Austin Beutner received The L.A. Trust Visionary Award from Dr. Robert K. Ross of the California Endowment (left) and Maryjane Puffer of The L.A. Trust at the Salute to Student Health. Photo by Rinzi Ruiz.

The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health honored former Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner and Dr. Margaret Lynn Yonekura of Dignity Health-California Hospital Medical Center at its first-ever Salute to Student Health September 30, 2021. More than 200 educators, healthcare professionals, civic leaders and donors attended the gala online and in person at Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles.

“This pandemic has made the need for student health more apparent — and more urgent — than ever,” said Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The L.A. Trust. “Our mission is to bridge health and education to achieve student wellness,” she said. “I cannot think of two individuals who have done more to achieve this than our two honorees.”

Beutner received The L.A. Trust Visionary Award from Dr. Robert K. Ross, CEO and president of The California Endowment. Ross said, “If you wanted to pick a three-year period to be superintendent, you would not have picked the past three years.” He said, “Austin brought clear-eyed vision — and steely leadership — to one of the most extraordinary moments in our nation’s history.”

Bringing the help to schools

Beutner accepted his award “on behalf of the 86,000 L.A. Unified teachers and staff who work tirelessly every day.” He thanked Puffer, The L.A. Trust Board and staff, and gave “a special shout out” to the evening’s sponsors, including John and Louise Bryson, Shari Davis and Michael Dubin.

Beutner said, “COVID, if nothing else, has proven the importance of serving children and families, no questions asked.” He pointed to the district’s food program, which served 140 million meals, its computer and internet assistance, and massive COVID testing and vaccination operations, among the largest in the nation.

“If there is a theme here, it’s maybe The L.A. Trust was born a little bit before its time,” Beutner said. “The brave pioneers, Maryjane Puffer, your board and staff, were probably shouting into the wilderness 20 years ago, because people weren’t with you yet. I think we’ve shown in COVID that the best place to provide help to those who need it – the children who are the future of Los Angeles, who are in our public schools every day – is at their local neighborhood schools.”

Broadening the definition

Maryjane Puffer presented The L.A. Trust Champion Award to Dr. Margaret Lynn Yonekura, director of community health at Dignity Health-CHMC, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and “the architect of critically needed community health programs, the L.A. Best Babies Network at CMHC, the L.A. County Perinatal and Early Childhood Home Visiting Consortium, the Hope Street Margolis Family Center, the Preconception Health Care Council and Options for Recovery and numerous initiatives at The L.A. Trust.

“I have spent the majority of my working life in Los Angeles providing OB care for high-risk, impoverished and often marginalized women – both mother and fetus,” she said. “When I joined California Hospital Medical Center in 1992 my work began to broaden.

“I asked my patients what they needed; they said they wanted to learn to English, the language of success in America. So we added ESL to prenatal class. Fast forward and Hope Street now provides a wide range of family services,” including Early Head Start, childcare, family literacy, afterschool activities, mentoring, homework help, college prep, family preservation and behavioral health at nearby L.A. Unified sites.

Yonekura said, “I have lived a truly blessed life.” She said her parents left American internment camps at the end of WWII with just a hundred dollars and a train ticket. Her mother and father took jobs as domestics and worked tirelessly to get her the college education they never got. As a child, she told a nurse she wanted to be a nurse too, “but the nurse said, ‘No, be a doctor because doctors give the orders.’”

An interest-free loan from her father’s employer enabled her family to move into the middle class and get her into private school, college and eventually become a doctor. “That is why I try to pay it forward,” she said. “That is why I dedicate this award to those students who dare to dream.”

“The L.A. Trust was proud to be part of the coalition encouraging voluntary vaccinations this summer” said Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health. “But now our effort to protect our students and families enters a new phase as Los Angeles Unified mandates vaccinations for all students 12 and older by January 10, 2022, unless they have a medical or other exemption.”   

Vaccination efforts slow Delta wave of coronavirus in Southland

The L.A. Trust visited St. John’s busy vaccination operation in South L.A. Shown: CMO Dr. Anitha Mullangi (center) and Regional Medical Directors Dr. Sushant Bandarpalle and Dr. Matthew Welzenbach. 

   

Los Angeles County appears to be turning the corner on the Delta wave of COVID-19, thanks to increased vaccinations, greater testing and a return to physical distancing and mask wearing.  

“The L.A. Trust was proud to be part of the coalition encouraging voluntary vaccinations this summer” said Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health. “But now our effort to protect our students and families enters a new phase as Los Angeles Unified mandates vaccinations for all students 12 and older by January 10, 2022, unless they have a medical or other exemption.”   

Puffer said vaccine awareness will be more important now than ever. Those opposed or reluctant to getting the COVID-19 vaccine include the one of three L.A. County residents ages 12-17 who remain completely unvaccinated (L.A. County Department of Public Health, 9/9/2021).  

Listening to youth 

The L.A. Trust COVID-19 Youth Task Force, comprised of students from 16 Los Angeles Unified Hight Schools, has been working since March to educate themselves, their peers and their communities about the dangers of COVID-19 and the importance of getting vaccinated.  

The task force, funded by Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg, hit all its goals, educating hundreds of peers and community members and making thousands of impressions online. 

“These young people were true health activists,” said Esther Yepez, program manager for The L.A. Trust. “They not only became knowledgeable about the complex issues involved, they also learned how to effectively present this information and advocate for vaccination with their peers and communities.” 

Task force members were positive about the experience. One said they “gained confidence and skills in public data analysis, researching and community outreach.”  Another said they had learned “patience by getting in debates and struggling to get my point across.”  

Universal vaccination 

The L.A. Trust joined the L.A. County Department of Public Health, the Public Health Institute and 12 clinics and agencies to increase vaccinations and vaccine awareness as part of the We Vaccinate L.A. County campaign this summer. 

“Our school- and community-based clinics have been doing heroic work,” Puffer said. “St. John’s Well Child & Family Centers have administered more than 300,000 COVID shots alone — that’s just incredible.”  

Other participating providers are Eisner Pediatric and Family Center, LAUSD Wellness Programs, Northeast Valley Health Corporation, South Bay Family Center, Social Model Recovery Systems, South Central Family Health Center, T.H.E. Clinic, UMMA Community Clinic, Valley Community  Healthcare, ViaCare and Watts Healthcare Corporation. 

The L.A. Trust supported the community campaign with its own multilingual social media effort, reaching tens of thousands of L.A. County residents.  

L.A. Unified mandate 

“Getting to universal vaccination is going to require a lot of hard work, education, understanding and love,” Puffer said. “Teamwork, like we’ve seen in this effort, is critical.”  

School board member Dr. George J. McKenna III noted tha vaccine mandates are nothing new. “Mandatory immunizations for eligible students protect the entire Los Angeles Unified family. I’m old enough to remember when polio crippled some of my classmates. In fact, school children received the first, life-saving polio vaccination in 1954. Keep in mind that nationwide, more than 250,000 children (about half the population of Wyoming) were diagnosed with COVID-19 last week.”  

“The science is clear – vaccinations are an essential part of protection against COVID-19,” Interim Superintendent Megan K. Reilly said. “The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and requiring eligible students to be vaccinated is the strongest way to protect our school community.” 

To learn more, find a vaccination site near you and make an appointment, visit VaccinateLACounty.com (English) or VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish). You can also call 833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment, connecting to free transportation or scheduling a home visit if you are homebound. Vaccinations are free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. 

The L.A. Trust, students and allies join suicide prevention campaign

Belmont SAB members asked their peers, “What makes life worth living?” at the first in-person campus campaign in nearly two years. Esther Yepez (center) distributed L.A. Trust hoodies to the health activists. 

The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health continued its education and outreach on student mental health during Suicide Prevention Awareness Week in September. 

“Every week should be suicide prevention week,” said Senior Program Manager Robert Renteria of The L.A. Trust. “These are stressful times and our teens, especially, are going through a stressful time of life,” he said. “It is up to all of us to listen when youth talk about hurting themselves or feeling depressed.” 

The L.A. Trust and its student-run Student Advisory Boards held a tabling event at Belmont Hight and posted extensively on social media during the week, culminating in a one-hour online workshop marking World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10. 

The workshop was hosted by Renteria and Francisco Dussan of L.A. Unified Student and was attended by members of The L.A. Trust, L.A. Unified and other organizations. 

“Guy with a story”

It featured and guest speaker Greg Elsasser, an author, English teacher and three-time suicide survivor. Elsasser prefaced his remarks by saying, “I’m not an expert, just a guy with a story.”  

He said he had suffered from depression since childhood and had seen more than 30 therapists, counselors and clergy. “I was never honest with them when I was young,” he said.  

He said his big secret was being gay. “I never dealt with my sexuality,” he said. “I did not want to be shunned by my family, my God and my church.” Elsasser’s first suicide attempt was when he was 15 and his last was 7 years ago.  

 The equation changed when he started asking himself how his suicide would harm him. He made lists of things he wanted to do. “They were small things at first, like watching the next season of Game of Thrones.” As his lists got longer and his dreams got bigger the desire to escape life lessened. “I don’t wait till things are spiraling out of control,” Elsasser said. “I realize that there’s nothing that can’t be fixed.”  

Dussan said LGBTQ+ youth more vulnerable to suicide. He provided several resources available 24/7 for those seeking help, including the Trevor Project (866 488-7386), focused on LGBTQ+ youth but open to all, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800 273 8255 in English and Spanish). You can also text HELLO TO 741741 anytime. 

Wellness Centers eagerly prepare for school re-openings

Dr. Kevin Fang of CHLA spoke about healthcare inequities at The L.A. Trust Learning Collaborative.

The word of the day was “hopeful” as L.A. Unified representatives, Wellness Center operators and staff from The L.A. Trust prepared for school re-openings at the fourth pandemic-period Wellness Network Learning Collaborative, March 10 on Zoom.

Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health, conducted a roll call of representatives from the 17 LAUSD Wellness Centers, noting The L.A. Trust has been hosting the collaboratives for more than a decade.

Health equals success

Guest speaker Dr. Kevin Fang addressed healthcare inequities, saying, “Zip Codes are better determinants of health outcomes than genetic codes.” Children of parents without a high school diploma are more likely to live in an environment with health barriers, Fang said, noting the direct correlation between education and life expectancy, income and smoking.

Fang said chronic absenteeism was a strong predictor of poor academic achievement. COVID-19 has exacerbated an already high chronic absenteeism rate among California public schools, he said, noting it has risen 89%. Proven solutions include school nurses and other forms of school-based health, physical education and individual education plans. Fang suggested ways to increase collaboration between schools and the medical community, including ACES (adverse childhood experiences) training for pediatricians and Wellness Center clinicians and in-class visits by doctors and medical students.

Fang is an attending physician and an assistant program director for the Pediatric Residency Program at CHLA. The former high school biology teacher is also Fellowship Director for the General Academic Pediatrics Fellowship in Health Equity and assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at USC’s Keck School of Medicine.

Report card

Victor Luna, organization facilitator for LAUSD Student Health and Human Services,  provided a 2020 report card for the Wellness Network.

Visits to the Wellness Centers were down dramatically due the pandemic and facility closures. Visits varied widely — some clinics never closed and some remained closed for most of the year. Organization Facilitator Gloria Velasquez observed that 2020 was not a good year to determine trend lines in the network.

The two-hour collaborative concluded with a group discussion among the clinicians, educators, Student Advisory Board Adult Allies and The L.A. Trust staff. Topics included telehealth, getting students to make and keep medical appointments, and sexual and reproductive health services.

Appointments for STI prevention and birth control have been most impacted by the pandemic. Without outreach and the confidential setting of the school Wellness Center, students may be reluctant to reach out or use telehealth from home. LAUSD Organization Facilitator Ana Griffin said Wellness Centers and students were countering this through outreach campaigns. “We emphasize to students (who have sexual health questions) that the Wellness Center is a no-judgment zone.”

The L.A. Trust joins allies and providers marking school-based healthcare month

L.A. County leads the state in school-based health centers, providing critical care during the coronavirus crisis.

The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health is joining healthcare providers, educators, allies, students and community members in celebrating National School-Based Healthcare Awareness Month in February.

Tracy Mendez, executive director of the California School-Based Health Alliance, stressed the impact of school-based health centers (SBHCs) during COVID-19, as students and communities face pandemic stressors, including isolation and anxiety.

“Our SBHCs and Wellness Centers are more critical than ever,” said Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health. “Supporting these centers has been a core part of our mission since our founding, and it’s important we redouble our efforts during this incredibly challenging time.”

There are 75 SBHCs in Los Angeles County serving schools with more than 83,000 students, more school-based clinics than any other California county. The total includes 17 Wellness Centers, with three more on the way. “Since the first Wellness Center opened in 2012, more than 550,000 patient visits have taken place, a key accomplishment for the consortium of organizations for which The L.A. Trust serves as the backbone,” Puffer said.

Stepping up

“During the pandemic, school-based health centers are stepping up to provide students with behavioral health services via telehealth, and they continue to provide immunizations for students,” Mendez said. “School-based health centers have always provided healthcare access to students who would otherwise go without, but now the need is so much greater.”

There are 17 Wellness Centers serving Los Angeles Unified’s under-resourced communities and dozens of other school-based healthcare facilities operated directly by the district. Wellness Centers serve Belmont High School, Carson High School, Crenshaw High School, Elizabeth Learning Center, Fremont High School, Gage Middle School, Garfield High School, Hollywood High School, Jefferson High School, Jordan High School, Locke Early Education Center, Maclay Middle School, Manual Arts High School, Maywood Center for Enriched Studies, James Monroe High School, Santee Education Complex, and Washington Prep High School. All but Hollywood High are operated by Federally Qualified Health Centers.

Advocacy is key

“School-based health providers have performed heroic work to keep students connected to care during this pandemic,” Mendez said. “This is a month to advocate for the funds, personnel, equipment and vaccines our school-based health clinics need to serve their students and families. We are pleased that the Governor, state legislators, and state departments of health and education are recognizing the critical value of school health services and have endorsed plans to invest much more in them.”

Puffer quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman.” She said, “School-based health is the path to greater health equality and we cannot let down our kids and teens in the hour of their greatest need.”

New tool will help integrate schools and health centers

Dr. Kenny Ferenchak presented “School-Based Health Integration with Schools” at The L.A. Trust’s Learning Collaborative December 2. 

A new tool to measure the integration of school-based health centers with their schools was presented at The L.A. Trust’s Wellness Network Learning Collaborative December 2. More than 50 representatives from Los Angeles Unified, Wellness Center operators and The L.A. Trust attended the online event. 

“The L.A. Trust believes there’s a strong correlation between student health and student achievement, and school-based health centers are key,” said Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health, which helped support the research. 

“Integration of health centers with schools adds an extra element,” said Dr. Kenny Ferenchak, underscoring the fact that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Dr. Ferenchak, a former UCLA researcher and pediatric resident at Seattle Children’s Hospital, University of Washington, notes that no measure currently exists to quantify the degree of integration for clinics and their partner schools.  

The presentation included remarks by Dr. Rebecca Dudovitz, a board member of The L.A. Trust and associate professor in general pediatrics and vice-chair of the Primary Care College at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. 

“Measuring school health integration can drive practice improvement initiatives among SBHC-school partners, identify SBHC and school characteristics that are associated with better integration, and test whether better integration is associated with better student health and academic outcomes,” they reported. 

Scanning the environment 

The Learning Collaborative included presentations by three organization facilitators with L.A. Unified Student Health and Human Services: Ana Griffin gave an update on Wellness Network performance; Gloria Velasquez conducted a whiteboard exercise on successes in outreach and services; and Victor Luna led a resiliency exercise.  

Robert Renteria, program manager of The L.A. Trust, and Erika Hernandez, project specialist for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, gave a presentation on Conducting an Environmental ScanPreparing for Implementation of Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) at Your School-Based Health Center. 

School-based health centers are encouraged to use the Environmental Scan to ensure they are providing accessible substance use prevention and treatment services. It reflects lessons learned by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and The L.A. Trust from a multi-year initiative to integrate SBIRT into five school-based health centers across South Los Angeles. Funding for the project was provided by the California Community Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

The L.A. Trust and Mark Ridley-Thomas protect Wellness Centers with PPE

Maryjane Puffer of The L.A. Trust distributes protective masks to Dr. Anitha L. Mullangi, MD, MHCM, chief medical officer of St. John’s Well Child and Family Centers.

The L.A. Trust and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas have joined forces to distribute 5,000 N95 protective masks to frontline workers at L.A. Unified Wellness Centers in the 2nd Supervisorial District. Ridley-Thomas will join the L.A. City Council next year.

A total of 1,300 masks were distributed by Ridley-Thomas to the mobile clinic at Susan Miller Dorsey Senior High operated by T.H.E. (To Help Everyone) as part of a socially distanced get-together November 2.

Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The L.A. Trust, has taken personal charge of distributing the remainder of the critically important personal protective equipment, stopping at South Central Family Health Center at Jefferson High School and then at St. John’s Well Child and Family Center, where she was met by Dr. Anitha L. Mullangi, MD, MHCM, the group’s chief medical officer.

“We take care of our providers”

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said, “School-based health centers are culturally sensitive, safe and accessible places where high-quality care is being provided to students and families, oftentimes in areas that have historically suffered from inadequate access to quality care. The pandemic has only exacerbated health disparities and made the need for these services more profound.”

He added that “youth are not immune to this virus and we also know that this pandemic has created serious mental health impacts for youth that require attention. We can’t grow complacent about making sure that the providers in these settings continue to be equipped for the job,” he said. “We take care of our providers, so they can take care of our communities.”

Puffer agreed. “It is critical that we protect our frontline heroes right now. I want to thank our Wellness Center staff for fighting this pandemic in our communities, and I want to salute Supervisor Ridley-Thomas and his team for backing them up with this protective equipment and support.”

Wellness Centers confer on impact and inclusion

Senior LAUSD Physician Dr. Rosina Franco provided an update on the District’s coronavirus response at The L.A. Trust Wellness Network Learning Collaborative.

Representatives from Los Angeles Unified and its Wellness Centers discussed how to reach and treat students during the COVID-19 pandemic at The L.A. Trust’s online Learning Collaborative October 14.

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Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health, welcomed the participants. Noting that inclusion was the theme of the gathering, she quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Report card

Gloria Velasquez, an organization facilitator for L.A. Unified’s Student Health and Human Services, presented a Wellness Network Report Card for academic year 2019-2020. She reminded the attendees that the purpose of the Wellness Network was to help students and families “where there is a gap in healthcare” and thanked The L.A. Trust Data xChange “for gathering and presenting these metrics so they could be shared in so many different ways.”

Velasquez noted that student patients comprised more than 28% of all patients seen by the Wellness Clinics and they averaged 2.1 visits per year. More female than male students visited the clinics (55.6% vs. 44.4%) and the overwhelming number of student patients were teens 14-19. The top services provided to students were well child exams, overweight and obesity concerns, contraceptive management and vaccinations and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Return plan

Senior LAUSD Physician Dr. Rosina Franco provided an update on the District’s coronavirus response and prospects for school reopening. She noted that Los Angeles County was still in Tier 1, reflecting widespread case and positivity rates, and outlined the state’s requirements for re-opening. As of October 13, Los Angeles County had 9.0 new COVID cases per 100,000 population — the county’s positivity rate was 3.7% and rising.

Franco said L.A. Unified was laying the groundwork for a safe return to in-person instruction. LAUSD is currently testing teachers, staff and children in childcare to establish an initial COVID-19 baseline. The second phase of initial baseline testing will include all staff working from home. The third phase will include all students.

The District will do another return to school baseline test and periodic testing thereafter. Contacts of students and staff who test positive will be notified by the District as part of its robust Community Engagement effort.

Inclusive engagement

Two representatives from the Carson Wellness Center presented ideas on how to engage students and community members and drive visits to Wellness Centers.

Kristie Garrison of Healthy Start and Suzanne Markey of LAUSD School Mental Health offered marketing and communications tactics, including virtual clinic tours media to be shared on classroom Zoom meetings and social media. The team is focused on promoting clinic services to students, especially sexually transmitted infection and HIV prevention education.

Rosario Rico and Robert Renteria of The L.A. Trust gave a brief presentation on inclusive strategies to increase student use of LAUSD Wellness Centers.

They emphasized “location, location, location,” which includes virtual environments like Schoology, Zoom and social media, and more traditional methods like putting printed fliers in places where students are still checking in. They said messaging should include Wellness Center hours, available services, minor consent services and how to make an appointment.

The two-hour event concluded with breakout rooms discussing “How to expand outreach efforts in a more inclusive manner?” Suggestions included involving parents and past student clients as ambassadors; engaging teachers; and utilizing ConnectEd, Schoology and other platforms.

Conference attendees committed to exploring the techniques and increasing clinic visits next semester.

Data xChange report shows growth of Wellness Centers

The L.A. Trust Data xChange has issued a new report showing the impact of L.A. Unified’s Wellness Centers since 2015.  

The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health has released a new Data xChange report demonstrating the widespread impact of L.A. Unified’s 16 full-service Wellness Centers on students, families and community members in the District’s highest-need areas. 

According to the Data xChange report, 11 school-based Wellness Centers reported more than 229,000 visits from 86,000 patients in the past five years. Visits grew 143% in the past half decade and patients averaged 2.7 visits per year, demonstrating “a strong bond between clinics and patients.”  

The statistics in the Wellness Center 5-Year Impact Report were produced by The L.A. Trust’s Data xChange, which is designed to measure the impact of Wellness Center investments, improve the allocation of health resources and connect the dots between student health and academic achievement. 

Vital services 

Quality healthcare is essential to student success, the report noted. The L.A. Trust supports these clinics by offering best practices, prevention education programs, learning collaboratives and other vital infrastructure. In addition, it has independently raised more than $1.5 million to create the Data xChange, which The L.A. Trust views as key to the future of school-based health in Los Angeles and throughout the nation. 

Common student services include Well Child Exams, contraceptive management, weight and obesity management, immunization and vaccines, sexually transmitted infection testing and management, and mental health and substance use services. 

Because students are only as healthy as the communities they live in, Wellness Centers treat family and community members, too. Community members are more likely to be treated for chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. 

There are currently 16 LAUSD Wellness Center clinics with two more on the way. They bring high-quality medical services into traditionally underserved communities, provide culturally competent care and reduce transportation burdens by putting the clinics on school campuses. (Most of the clinics have a street-facing door to admit community members and a school-facing door to admit students.) 

COVID-19 response 

The coronavirus pandemic has hit Los Angeles hard, especially predominantly Black and Latinx communities served by the Wellness Centers, the report stated. Six Wellness Centers have remained open during the height of the school lockdown and received more than 12,000 visits between March and June of this year. 

“As many of our Wellness Centers pivot toward telehealth and incorporate more specific coding practices related to COVID-19, The L.A. Trust Data xChange will stay in step with them by working to create new reports and insights,” the impact report affirmed.  

The Data xChange is guided by an Expert Advisory Council that includes: Manal Aboelata, The Prevention Institute; Mayra Alvarez, The Children’s Health Partnership; Grace Kim Crofton, L.A. Care Health Plan; Rebecca Dudovitz, UCLA; Pia Escudero, LAUSD Student Health and Human Services; Mehrnaz Davoudi, Kaiser Permanente; Art Garcia, First 5 Los Angeles; Will Grice, Kaiser Permanente and board president of The L.A. Trust; Lyndee Knox, PatientToc; Hayley Love; James Kyle, L.A. Care Health Plan; Anitha Mullangi, St. John’s Well Child and Family Health Center; Kevon Tucker-Seeley, LAUSD Office of Data and Accountability; Mollie Rudnick, LAUSD Chief Strategy Office; Nina Vaccaro, Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County; Ron Tanimura, LAUSD Student Medical Services; Kimberly Uyeda; and Lynn Yonekura, L.A. Best Babies Network

Q&A with Jim Mangia: “South L.A. has been hit hard by COVID”

Jim Mangia is president and CEO of St. John’s Well Child & Family Center, operator of Wellness Centers at Lincoln, Manual Arts and Washington Prep, all of which have remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Maryjane Puffer is executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health and has led the organization since 2009. The former pediatric nurse is a recognized expert in student health programs and community outreach.  

Question from Maryjane Puffer: COVID-19 has been especially devastating to communities served by the Wellness Network. Can you describe the impact of COVID-19 on the communities you serve? 

Answer from Jim Mangia: The South Los Angeles community has been hit hard by the COVID pandemic in so many ways. We have the highest rates of COVID cases in the county. Some days over the summer, 30% of the people who came in to be tested were infected with COVID. Frontline workers, essential workers, factory workers were called back to work in June and July, were not given masks and protective gear and got infected at work. They brought it home to their families. And then the employers wouldn’t let them back to work until they showed a negative test result, which could take months. In addition to being sick, or seeing loved ones die, people lost their homes, their jobs.  It was devastating.

Q. How has COVID and the school and economic shutdown impacted your three Wellness Centers? Are you still seeing a lot of students or are you seeing greater numbers of community members? 

A. People still need healthcare. And since we’re offering free COVID testing for students and their families, our Wellness Centers have been extremely busy. We erected sterilized isolation tents at all of our sites to reduce the possibility of infection during the COVID test. We’ve had no cross-infection at any of our clinic sites or Wellness Centers because of the rigorous protocols we put into place. But we’re seeing more patients than we were before the pandemic hit, because in addition to people needing their diabetes medicine or their hypertensive care, tens of thousands of people depended on St. John’s for their COVID testing.

Q. What services are you offering to students and community members? Have you noted a change?

A. We’re continuing to offer the full range of medical, dental and behavioral health services to students, their families and the community at large, in addition to COVID testing, triage and follow-up care. We have added telehealth services so we can better triage patients with symptoms. If a patient tests positive for COVID, our doctors can call them every day and monitor their symptoms. If their symptoms start to worsen, we can get them into a hospital immediately. We know that once symptoms occur, the sooner you get to a hospital, the better chance you have for survival. We’ve saved hundreds of lives through the telehealth monitoring we’ve been doing, in addition to the testing and regular primary care services that have continued.

Q. Are people foregoing treatment they should otherwise be getting?

A. Initially yes. About one-third of our patients were foregoing treatment and cancelling appointments. We were able to provide telehealth to them and have medicine delivered to their homes, which allowed our doctors to stay on top of their health status and health conditions. Our screening protocols are so rigorous, and the fact that we have two isolation tents at every site also made patients feel more secure coming in for their visits. Now our cancellation rate is under 5%, so patients are feeling safe and keeping their visits. We take every patient’s temperature before they enter the clinic and ask a set of screening questions.  If they answer yes to any questions or have fever, they are sent to the isolation tent for their visit, where we also administer a COVID test.

Q. How has student and community mental health been impacted by COVID? What can be done about it?

A. We’re seeing a significant increase in depression and anxiety disorders as a result of the pandemic. It’s most acute with patients who have lost a loved one to COVID, but there is widespread stress, anxiety and depression as a result of the pandemic. Many residents have lost their jobs. Many have lost loved ones. Many have been sick. The pandemic is having a direct and significant impact on the mental health of the South Los Angeles community.

Q. What is the most important thing students and community members should know about your services right now?

A. That we are open to serve them and can provide whatever health services they need — medical, dental, behavioral health, in addition to COVID testing and triage. We are also participating in a clinical trial with UCLA to provide a very effective and free COVID treatment to patients who have symptoms and are infected.

Student advocates prepare at The L.A. Trust Academy

Student advocates, shown here at The L.A. Trust’s Y2Y Conference in March, discussed how to conduct peer campaigns in the new school year on August 4-7.  

Two dozen Student Advisory Board members from five Los Angeles high schools met with staff members of The L.A. Trust for its first-ever Summer Academy learning session August 4-7, 2020. 

The students learned how to conduct peer-to-peer health campaigns, discussed ways to encourage visits to L.A. Unified Wellness Centers, and gained greater knowledge of healthcare disparities. The four-day pilot event was attended by SAB members from  Crenshaw, Jordan, Locke and Washington Prep, as well as students from John Marshall High School.  

The online Academy was facilitated by four staff members from The L.A. Trust: Robert Renteria, program manager; Eddie Hu, program manager; Mackenzie Scott, student engagement program coordinator; and Dannielle Griffin, student engagement program assistant.  

Organizational facilitators from L.A. Unified Student Health and Human Services helping to inform and guide the students included Gloria E. Velasquez, Victor Luna, Rene Bell-Harbour and Maggie Yu-DiPasquale. 

Impressed  

Renteria said he was impressed by the students’ commitment to the 20-hour learning program. Scott said the students were knowledgeable (“they could have presented my learning modules”) and engaged (“the chat was blowing up like crazy.”) 

Students discussed mental health, sexual and reproductive health, substance use prevention, public health, and their own career development. Wellness Center staff logged on to brief the students on updated hours and services and how to refer peers to the clinics. 

Students took a break from their learning to share their insights with The L.A. Trust Board of Directors at their annual retreat, August 6. Maryjane Puffer and Board members thanked the students for their frank accounts of how the pandemic is affecting them and their communities. 

The L.A. Trust’s Student Advisory Boards have met since August 18, the first week of L.A. Unified’s 2020-2021 school year. Renteria said, “Thanks to the Summer Academy, we have students ready to conduct campaigns about student and community health and to help increase awareness and use of the primary, mental and oral healthcare services offered by L.A. Unified’s student and family Wellness Centers.”

Join California School-Based Health Conference online October 6-8

Staff from L.A. Unified Wellness Centers can register for the CSHA virtual California School-Based Health Conference free of charge.

The California School-Based Health Alliance’s Statewide School-Based Health Conference will take place online October 6-8 this year, and all student healthcare providers and supporters are invited to join The L.A. Trust in attending. This year’s theme is “School Health on the Frontlines: Navigating Pandemics & Building Equity.”

Staff from L.A. Unified Wellness Centers can register for the conference free of charge. (Click Tickets and then Enter Promo Code TRUST20.)

Dr. Tichianaa Armah, renowned school-based health provider and Yale School of Medicine professor, will be the keynote speaker. The event schedule will include more than 35 workshops and leading healthcare providers and others will appear in a Virtual Exhibit Hall. 

“School-based health centers are stepping up to provide critical support and healthcare access to the students most impacted by the intersecting pandemics of COVID-19 and the public health crisis of racism,” organizers said. “This conference is an opportunity to connect, learn and grow as we face unprecedented challenges.”

For more information visit the CSHA conference website or register now.

This post was updated 10/05/2020 at 11:24 a.m.

Student leaders and The L.A. Trust advocate for school-based health

Mayra Alvarez, president of The Children’s Partnership, rallied more than 50 school-based health advocates at the CSHA’s first-ever virtual Advocacy Day. 

More than 50 school-based health advocates briefed 42 California lawmakers and their staffs August 5 during the California School-Based Health’s Alliance’s first-ever virtual Advocacy Day. 

Students from several of The L.A. Trust’s Student Advisory Boards joined staff members from The L.A. Trust, CSHA and other organizations at the legislative briefings, which focused on top policy priorities made more urgent by COVID-19. These priorities include healthcare and SBHC funding, student mental health, substance use prevention, and coordination by state departments (Education, Health Care Services and Public Health) to strengthen partnership with School-Based Health Centers. 

Mayra Alvarez, president of The Children’s Partnership, rallied the online advocates. Noting that California is a national leader in health insurance coverage with 97 to 98% of all kids covered, “you all know it’s not enough to be covered.” She saluted those working on the frontlines of student health and said, “we have shared goals and a shared partnership.” 

A time of reckoning 

Alvarez tied the issue of health equity to the larger issue of race. “This is a reckoning — a racial reckoning,” she said. “It is truly wiser when we listen to those marching in the streets. Going back is accepting the status quo — we can pave a better path forward for California and the nation.” 

Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The L.A. Trust, stressed the importance of school-based health and thanked all the attendees for speaking out. Puffer and six other staff members from The L.A. Trust participated in the legislative briefings. 

Lisa Eisenberg, policy director for CSHA, noted that one-third of all California legislators were reached — five lawmakers attended in person. 

“While we really wanted to host in-person advocacy visits earlier this year, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented those plans,” CSHA said. “As this pandemic has disproportionately impacted people served by school-based health centers, it’s more important than ever to share challenges and experiences with policymakers as schools grapple with a changing environment.”  

There are 277 school-based health centers in California, and 274,000 California students have access to high-quality healthcare through these clinics. There are 75 school-based health centers in Los Angeles County, including 16 LAUSD Wellness Centers supported by The L.A. Trust.