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.”