Students find a healthcare home at LAUSD Wellness Centers

LAUSD’s network of Wellness Centers, like this one operated by South Central Family Health Center, are on the front lines of student and community health.

When a Delta 777 passenger plane dumped a load of aviation fuel over the Cudahy area last month, students at six LAUSD schools were affected—and the Wellness Center at Elizabeth Learning Center sprung into action.

The clinic, operated by South Central Family Health Center, offered free screenings to everyone in the community, regardless of insurance, immigration status or ability to pay. The clinic is part of Los Angeles Unified School District’s network of Student and Family Wellness Centers, which provide a healthcare home for students and community members in the district’s most underserved neighborhoods. Tens of thousands of students and community members rely on the clinics each year.

“When there’s an environmental emergency, a flu outbreak or a spike in STDs, the Wellness Centers often see it first,” said Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health. “They are on the front lines of student and community health, and the services they provide are indispensable. Nothing is more important to The L.A. Trust than supporting these clinics.”

Partners in health

The L.A. Trust provided direct financial support to the six original LAUSD school-based health clinics between 1994 and 2002. Since then it has worked closely with LAUSD Health and Human Services to support the development of 15 (soon to be 19) new school-based Wellness Centers, focusing on strategies to make them self-sufficient and sustainable. 

“Our Wellness Center support mission today includes a broad range of prevention programs, best practices and research,” Puffer said. She cited The L.A. Trust’s groundbreaking Data xChange initiative, student engagement efforts and Wellness Network Learning Collaborative workshops as examples of how The L.A. Trust supports the clinics.

The Wellness Center Network is overseen by LAUSD Health and Human Services, headed by Executive Director Pia V. Escudero. Professional services are provided by these Federally qualified health centers: Asian Pacific Healthcare Venture at Belmont; Eisner Health at Santee Education Complex; Kaiser Permanente, LAUSD Student Medical Services and Planned Parenthood Los Angeles at Hollywood High; Mission City Community Network at Maywood Center for Enriched Studies; Northeast Community Clinics at Gage Middle School; St. John’s Well Child and Family Center at Manual Arts High and Washington Prep; South Central Family Health Center at Elizabeth Learning Center and Jefferson High; South Bay Family Health Center at Carson High; T.H.E. (To Help Everyone) Health and Wellness Centers at Crenshaw High; UMMA Community Clinic at Fremont High; Valley Community Healthcare at North Hills-Monroe High; Via Care at Garfield High; and Watts Health at Jordan High and Locke Early Education Center. 

Primary care plus

In addition to primary and dental care, most LAUSD Wellness Centers provide mental health services to students and community members. LAUSD School Mental Health provides intervention, care and referral at the Belmont, Carson, Crenshaw, Elizabeth, Gage, Locke, Maywood and Washington Prep Wellness Centers.

Other mental health services providers include Aviva Family and Children’s Services at Hollywood High; Child and Family Guidance Center at North Hills-Monroe; Children’s Institute at Jordan; Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic at Manual Arts; and Weber Community Center at Fremont.

“Our kids hold all the promise in the world,” Puffer said. “Helping support them with access to care—whether it’s asthma, anxiety, depression or substance use—is part of the holistic wellness mission of The L.A. Trust. ”