Ohio Alliance Board of Directors Spotlight

Marilyn Crumpton

Dr. Marilyn Crumpton is a retired pediatrician whose public health career began in 1980. She served on the Ohio School-Based Health Alliance Board of Directors since 2007. Her work at Growing Well Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Health Department gave her a front-row view of what school-based health centers (SBHCs) could do for students.

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Why do you believe school-based health care is important for Ohio’s students and families?

When students face barriers to receiving important health services, their education is affected. Through Growing Well Cincinnati and through the Cincinnati Health Department’s school-based health centers, I saw the immediate impact these centers had on student attendance, health, and academic outcomes.

What inspired you to join the Ohio Alliance Board?

As a pediatrician who had worked in public health since 1980, I saw the possibilities of what SBHCs could do to improve health outcomes and futures for students.

What do you see as the greatest opportunity for school-based health care in Ohio?

Partnering with families and schools, SBHCs can reduce the seat time disruptions that necessary health care can mean for students, especially students with chronic health problems. In some settings, SBHCs are serving the community and staff as well.  

What excites you most about the Ohio Alliance’s work?

The Ohio Alliance has worked for many years to promote partnerships with schools, communities, families and school-based health centers. The advocacy of the Alliance has raised awareness of the benefits for students.  Now Ohio’s investment in school-based health has created or expanded SBHCs in many counties. Addressing previously unmet needs in primary care, dental care, vision care, and mental wellness is changing the future for this generation of students.

What do you enjoy outside of work?

Having loved a long career in medicine, public health, and school-based health, I enjoy spending time with our three children and nine grandchildren.

Why does school-based health care matter to you?

I was born at home in a coal mining town in North Alabama and recognized how poverty, especially in a rural community, impacted health as well as success. In high school, I decided to become a physician hoping to help create solutions.  I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had to work in SBHCs with the most wonderful and caring people who are changing the future for students.