Healthcare provider hosts Harder in Modesto to show importance of school-based centers
Rep. Josh Harder toured a school-based health center in Modesto on Thursday to talk about funding and learn about the center’s needs.
Modesto City Schools’ Hanshaw Middle School is one of five school-based health centers in Stanislaus run by Golden Valley Health Centers, a healthcare provider in the Central Valley. The center provides medical, dental, behavioral and mental healthcare to students and families at Hanshaw and feeder elementary schools, said Yamilet Valladolid, GVHC’s director of government and community affairs.
“My goal today was to ensure that Congressman Harder is able to see how important healthcare access is through the school-based health center lens,” Valladolid said.
School-based health centers make healthcare more convenient for many students and families. Golden Valley partners with school districts to provide health education, help students enroll in health insurance (It accepts Medi-Cal, Medicare and private insurance) and offer services that support at-risk students, according to the healthcare provider.
Harder said he has focused on the intersection between schools and health over the past year and wants to do more. He mentioned dollars to staff schools with mental health outreach workers and clinicians who speak Spanish.
“There’s always more needs across our community in terms of access,” he said.
Harder toured the two portable buildings behind the school, chatting with staff before meeting with Golden Valley leaders to ask how his office could help.
GVHC officials had shared with Harder a letter sent by the president of the School-Based Health Alliance to leaders of the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. Harder is on the House Appropriations Committee, which drafts legislation on federal funding.
The letter urged Congress to adopt $60 million set by the Senate appropriations bill that would fund more than 2,500 school-based health centers nationwide.
Harder said he hopes the budget will pass in January or February, unlocking funding for healthcare, including school-based health centers. From there, he said he will fight to make sure local entities receive that funding.
There are 293 school-based health centers in the state, according to the nonprofit California School-Based Health Alliance. Golden Valley’s other four locations in Stanislaus County include Grayson Charter in Patterson, Robertson Road Elementary in Modesto, Empire Elementary in Empire and Riverbank High.
Benefits of such centers include higher school attendance, reduced emergency room visits and improved wellness policies and health programs, according to Golden Valley.
“We really play a vital role in the community,” said dental director Jordan Combs.
