Mexico 59 awarded MOSBHA Grant

Mexico 59 awarded MOSBHA Grant
Posted on 10/07/2020
October 7, 2020 - The Mexico School District was pleased to accept a $5,000 grant from the Show-Me School-Based Health Alliance of Missouri (MOSBHA) for "Existing School-based Health.” These monies will support an existing partnership between Mexico 59 and Arthur Center Community Health, which has been ongoing for two years. 

This partnership with the Arthur Center has allowed students access to social-emotional and mental health support while they are at school. The Arthur Center is providing a therapist to work on-site at school buildings, as well as facilitating required insurance and billing paperwork. At this time, any student with state insurance (Medicaid) has been able to enroll and begin therapeutic services. The Arthur Center currently has one school-based therapist that visits Hawthorne, Eugene Field, Middle, and High School each week. This service is beneficial to the family as the student does not have to leave school and miss extra class time due to travel to outside appointments. Instead, travel is a walk of just a few minutes across the building, and students are not missing class for long periods of time. 

Currently, Mexico 59 serves around 75 students districtwide through the school-based therapy program. The grant funds received will pay for students who would like the school-based therapy services but do not have insurance or private insurance. We have determined that each student that is eligible for the grant will receive between eight and ten 30-minute sessions with the school-based therapist dependent upon the students' needs.

The Show-Me School-Based Health Alliance of Missouri is an organization founded in 1995, the nonprofit School-Based Health Alliance is the national voice for school-based health care. They provide the field with high-quality resources, training, and motivation, and inspiration. As a district, we have been sending key district administrators to the conferences and training for the last four years. The organization sends out monthly newsletters, and we learned about the grant from the summer newsletter.  As a district, we wanted to be able to provide therapeutic services to students who were not eligible due to insurance requirements and are always looking for ways to expand and support the school-based therapy program. 

Mrs. Kerri Ferrari and I submitted the grant and were notified by email regarding the award. We were very excited to have been granted the contribution as it will assist several students with access to social-emotional and mental health supports at school. A total of nine awards of $5,000 each were made to six existing school-based health programs and three healthcare organizations and school districts currently planning school-based health programs. Funded projects will address a variety of student health and mental health needs, including those brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.