Population Health School Program

Shaping the future of school-based health

The Population Health School Program is responsible for the development, implementation, and expansion of clinical school partnerships for Cincinnati Children's as well as coordination and alignment of existing and newly developed partnerships across our four missions: clinical care, education, advocacy and research. The strategic goals for the Population Health School Program are listed below.

Infrastructure
Optimize Partnerships
Build Clinical Services
Reduce Health Disparities
Create shared vision and define criteria to guide development, decision making and expansion of school partnerships at Cincinnati Children's
Connect internal and external stakeholders to enhance optimization of partnerships with community schools
Create a standardized clinical services implementation tool and build a diverse portfolio of health services including primary, sub-specialty, mental health and oral healthcare
Develop a successful framework that promotes health equity and closes the health gap in our community

Key Highlights

The Population Health School Program had an unwavering commitment to shaping the future of school-based health. This year, we:

  • Developed structured process to established shared vision for school partnerships
  • Enhanced internal and external stakeholder engagement through strategy alignment and partnerships
  • Raised program awareness through media publications (e.g. Cincinnati Business Courier, WCPO, WKRC, WXIX, Spectrum News 1 Ohio, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Becker's Hospital Review, MSN, and Yahoo! News)
  • Addressed food insecurity with Kroger collaboration supported by $50,000 grant to distribute over 650 Thanksgiving turkeys and hams
  • Cared for over 3,000 patients at our school-based health centers

Increasing Access

Cincinnati Children's has three school-based health centers in Ohio, offering high-quality pediatric care directly in the schools. This ensures students have access to the care they need -- right where they learn. 2024 saw an increase in number of patients cared for at the school-based health centers.

Patients seen at our school-based health centers in 2024

In 2024, we received $771,000 in total grand funding for our school-based health centers, including:

grant from the Appalachian Community Innovation Center, which will be used towards our future New Richmond, OH school-based health center

grant from the Ohio School-Based Health Alliance, which was used to distribute turkeys and hams to families during the holiday season

Strategic Plan Delivery Achievements

  • Established new partnerships: Purcell Marian (sports medicine), IDEA Greater Cincinnati (telehealth), New Richmond Schools (school-based health center)
  • Hired first integrated behavioral health provider for Rockdale Academy
  • Expanded clinical service options through new services, including: integrated behavioral health, endocrinology, sports medicine, and audiology
  • Addressed health inequities through increasing access to well-child care, mobile care, and telehealth services

"We are physically located in the school building - which means better access for children; we make them feel at home. Our focus is child wellness, and our model supports not only the schools but the community at large."

Lisa Crosby, APRN, DNP, clinical director, Cincinnati Children's School-Based Health Centers

Looking Forward

In 2025, the Population Health School Program is focusing on:

  • Establishing evening hours at Rockdale school-based health center
  • Launching a telehealth program with IDEA Greater Cincinnati
  • Opening a school-based health center at New Richmond Schools
  • Growing clinical services and specialty care in schools

Share this page

To learn more about the Office of Population Health visit our website:

Click Here

Go to the next section

Tri-State Child Health Services (PHO)

Read More