A Message from the Alliance Board Chair

Dear Alliance Members and Friends,

The last ten months changed our world. When we first heard the word “coronavirus” in early 2020, no one could have imagined within a very short period of time the word would be spoken in every household in the world; that “social distancing” would be commonplace. Now more than ever, the Alliance is committed to carrying out our mission to provide access to comprehensive, high-quality primary care, including medical, mental, oral, and community health services for all children statewide through school-based health centers.

First let us say, THANK YOU to our members. 2020 saw a record number of individual memberships and donations to our mission. Without you, 2020 would have been a far more challenging year. Your support allowed us to continue the advocacy work to sustain SBHCs. Thank you to our members on the front lines administering care in this unique time.

The pandemic has changed how we provide care in our SBHCs. Telemedicine and telehealth use has skyrocketed and become commonplace. Some school districts are open with SBHCs being able to see their students in person while others have been strictly doing distance learning since the start of the pandemic. Many have a hybrid model between the two, navigating how to have access to their patients when they can. These changes bring challenges and opportunities on how to best sustain SBHCs moving forward.

Social media has become a more important tool than ever in maintaining communication and gathering information. The Alliance has two active social media accounts – Twitter and Instagram @nysbha. Follow us to keep up to date on all our work and to share your stories. Remaining connected is more important now than ever.

We are stronger together. You and your organizations are the backbone of the Alliance. We encourage you to check in with us, keep us updated on your district and your ideas. Let us know how we can support you. Let your voice be heard with our representatives in office. The recent change in administration offers new opportunities to connect and be heard. While meeting in person may not be an option right now, we can reach out to our representatives and let them hear our voice. You can find your representative here: https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/search/

The Alliance Board Members are ready to take on whatever this year will bring and support SBHCs. Our members, patients and families are too important to do anything else.

Karla Powers, MBA, CHFP

Alliance Board Chair