School-based health care centers are growing, bringing medical care to more Ohio kids

Picture an old chemistry lab being used as a health care clinic for the local community. That's exactly what Dr. Sara Bode, medical director of School-based Health Services at Nationwide Children's Hospital, said is happening in one Ohio high school.

"Some of our offices can look like a medical health center. It might have multiple exam rooms," Bode said. But in other schools, the space might be more limited. But the number of facilities is growing, bringing health care to people who might otherwise go without.

In 1995, the first health center based on school grounds opened in Ohio. Today, there are 138 of those centers throughout the state in 49 school districts in 27 of Ohio’s 88 counties.

The Ohio General Assembly has provided $20 million to expand the clinics over the next two years