A school-based health center is an accessible and high quality model for delivering medical care to low-income, uninsured, underserved, and at-risk school-age children and youth. Find out more at the School-based Health Alliance or at the Colorado Association for School-Based Health Care.
The level of access that school-based health centers provide has a profound effect on both the short- and long-term health and well-being of communities, including in the following key areas:
- Address barriers to access—School-based health centers provide health care that is culturally and linguistically responsive, affordable, and offered during convenient hours within the school, so parents don’t lose work time, and students have fewer school absences.
- Increase health-promoting behaviors—When compared to nonusers, students who have used school-based health centers have shown greater increases in physical activity and healthy eating. School-based health centers can also teach students when and how to access health care.
- Reduce the economic burden on families and public systems—School-based health centers can lead to fewer hospitalizations for children with asthma and fewer emergency room visits overall. Additionally, a 2014 economic evaluation of school-based health centers found that they led to positive net savings to both Medicaid and to families due to reduced productivity loss among parents and reduced expenses associated with teenage pregnancy.
Kids First serves children and adolescents ages 0-21. At our community-based clinics, our patients come from all over the Denver metro area. In our school-based clinics, patients are students who attend a school in either the Adams 14 school district or in Adams 12 Five Star Schools.
The majority of Kids First patients are enrolled in Medicaid or CHP+, and nearly 20% are uninsured.
You can call our main office at 303-289-1086 to make an appointment. If you attend one of the schools where Kids First has a school-based health center, you can visit that page on our website to contact the school-based health center staff directly or stop in to schedule a visit. Our staff are always happy to help you!
Kids First is able to accept a variety of public and private health insurance plans. Please call 303-289-1086 if you have questions about whether we accept your insurance plan.
If you don’t have insurance, Kids First can help you enroll into the appropriate plan. We offer public health insurance enrollment assistance and are a Presumptive Eligibility site, enabling us to immediately see you for your medical visit while your application is being processed.
If you are not eligible for insurance, Kids First also offers a sliding fee scale, which is based on your family’s household income.
For insurance enrollment assistance or to see if you qualify for our sliding fee scale, please call 303-289-1086 to make an appointment.
Unfortunately, services at our school-based health centers are only available to students at the school. We have two community-based clinics where services are available to any child or adolescent, ages 0-21: Our Commerce City clinic and our Westminster clinic, located at the Gregory Hill Early Childhood Center.
Kids First Health Care must have district and school buy-in in order to establish a school-based health center in your school. If you are a school or school district administrator interested in school-based health services, please contact Whitney Gustin Connor, Executive Director, at wconnor@adams14.org.
There are many ways to get involved. Volunteer opportunities include special events, participation on one of our community advisory boards, and special projects. While volunteer opportunities in our clinics are somewhat limited due to the confidential nature of our work, feel free to contact us if you are interested in learning more about ways to help! Please complete the volunteer form to get involved.