SBHC Impact | OSBHA-Ohio Alliance

School-Based Health Center (SBHC) Impact

Ohio’s SBHC footprint is growing — a reflection of historic state investments and strong statewide leadership. The Ohio School-Based Health Alliance created the 2025 Ohio School-Based Health Center (SBHC) Impact Report to highlight the growing reach and impact of Ohio's network of SBHCs. Inside the report you'll find:

An overview of the landscape of Ohio's SBHCs
Stories from SBHC operators, school administrators, and community members sharing their experiences with the power of SBHCs
The latest data showcasing breadth, utilization, and impact

Read: SBHC impact report

Watch: Ohio's school-based health center impact

The difference SBHCs make is real and lasting.

SBHCs have tremendous impacts on Ohio families and communities, including:

1. Removing barriers, expanding access

2. Supporting healthier students, stronger schools

3. Driving whole-child health, whole-community impact

Read the full SBHC impact report

SBHCs by the numbers

SBHC visits

Utilization

159,281

total number of visits across 109 SBHCs during the 2023-2024 school year

School buildings

Reach

939 number of Ohio school buildings served by SBHCs across 89 school districts

Well-child visits

Performance

20,270

number of unduplicated patients receiving a well-child visit across 98 SBHCs

Explore Ohio SBHC data

Community voices

“It shouldn’t matter who they are, where they come from, their socioeconomic background, or do they have insurance. What’s important is the child and ensuring that a child gets the best overall care collectively to be the best that they can truly be.”

— Lisa Crosby (Cincinnati, OH), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

“[For students], being able to come to the clinic and know that you have somewhere to go even after you graduate, that [the SBHC] is still here for you ... It’s teaching these kids independence and how to take care of their health, so they can learn confidence.”

— Candice Kilbarger (Logan, OH), Chieftain Health Clinic operated by Hocking Valley Community Hospital

Removing barriers, expanding access

“[SBHCs provide] a lot of love and attention. It's amazing to me that this small little place in this school knows every child on this campus…they know what they need [or] if they're having a bad day.”

— David and Michele Miller (Mansfield, OH), parents of Malabar Intermediate School students | patients of Third Street Family Health Services at Malabar Care Connect SBHC

For families seeking health care for their children, a number of factors can stand in the way: limited transportation, lack of paid time off, or the cost of care.

SBHCs eliminate these barriers by bringing care directly into schools, where children spend most of their day. This can be a game-changer for families in communities where provider access is limited — including the Millers, whose children now receive care through the SBHC at their Mansfield City school.

“We found the school-based health center right after our family doctor had moved out of the area and the kids’ pediatrician had retired. Our kids were coming to Malabar for the first time, and we came to the open house [where Malabar] Care Connect had a table.”

Malabar Intermediate School opened Malabar Care Connect on-site in their school building in 2019, placing a health center just steps away from the classrooms where students learn. For the Miller family, this meant access to consistent, high-quality care — something that had been difficult to find in their community.

After learning about the center during an open house, Michele and David scheduled pediatric appointments for their children and have continued to rely on the SBHC for their family’s care needs.

“Ever since then, it’s been a blessing. We had been looking for a doctor for about two months [when we were connected with Malabar Care Connect]. In the community we live in there’s not a huge number of doctors, so they’re always very full. Finding a pediatrician has always been a problem... it’s part of the reason that when we found [the SBHC], it was so important to our family.”

Having an SBHC located in the school building is a lifeline for working parents like the Millers. SBHCs allow families to access care without disrupting work schedules, keeping parents involved through consent and ongoing, clear communication processes.

Read the full SBHC impact report

Healthier students, stronger schools

“Having those relationships built with the students and the staff is amazing. You have those students who tell their friends, ‘She can help you out, whatever you need.’ You have those staff members who have that relationship with me, and they trust me, and they respect my opinions, and they know I can help families and students.”

— Alvernese Ford (Cleveland Heights, OH) Community Health Worker | The Heights Wellness Center operated by The MetroHealth System

SBHCs are built on strong partnerships between schools and healthcare providers — united by a common mission to ensure students are healthy and ready to learn. In the Cleveland Heights School District, that partnership takes shape through the SBHC operated by The MetroHealth System.

Alvernese Ford is a community health worker (CHW) based in the clinic. She serves as a vital connector for students and their families to community resources and supports that address social drivers of health, such as food security, transportation, housing, and utilities. Her role strengthens both health and academic outcomes by meeting students, families, and staff where they are, removing barriers to access and improving long-term well-being.

“If, at home, students don’t have enough food, don’t have heat, don’t have electricity, they aren’t able to come to school and actually learn. They’re coming to school and they’re not paying attention in class. Being able to have access to electricity, to food, to heat, [helps them to] feel better overall, and their health is better.”

Alvernese supports clinic scheduling and specialty care referrals, while also bridging families to broader health care and social services. She identifies students’ unique needs and helps them navigate available support systems to ensure they are both healthy and ready to learn.

“[Within the SBHC model,] you have the [healthcare] staff focused on the students’ medical needs, but then you also have the CHW to help address the social drivers of health. Having a CHW there, [means that there] is someone who can immediately go into that room, talk to the family, figure out what their issue is, and access the resources right then and there.”

Alvernese’s work demonstrates that SBHCs are more than a clinic — they’re an anchor for the school and community. By aligning health and education in a single, trusted setting, SBHCs set students up for success — in the classroom and beyond.

Read the full SBHC impact report

Whole-child health, whole-community impact

“We’re seeing the community embrace [the SBHC] at a larger level. That’s going to lead to a healthier overall community. Healthier communities lead to healthier children.”

— Bob Walker (Felicity, OH), Superintendent | Felicity-Franklin Local School District, Felicity-Franklin SBHC operated by HealthSource of Ohio

In many districts, SBHCs become a trusted fixture — not just within schools, but across the broader community. They are uniquely positioned to support the whole child by addressing medical needs, mental health, and the social factors that influence well-being. Many SBHCs also serve as hubs that connect families to critical resources, such as food access, housing supports, and transportation.

Felicity-Franklin Local School District in Southwest Ohio opened its SBHC in 2022 to better support students in a rural community with limited access to care. Superintendent Bob Walker recognized that academic success was closely linked to students’ physical and emotional health.

“We’re a rural district, so access to services is limited…what that leads to is absenteeism and untreated health concerns. We take care of our students in many different ways; this is just an extension.”

The Felicity-Franklin SBHC serves students, school staff, and the wider community, and Superintendent Walker has seen firsthand how it has transformed local access to care.

“[A school-based health center is] probably one of the smartest investments you could make. It’s … how schools are changing, how they deliver services [and] how healthcare is changing, how it delivers services. It’s the future of healthcare in the community, especially if you’re in a rural district, because … lack of access creates larger problems.”

Superintendent Walker’s experience demonstrates that by expanding access, SBHCs strengthen not just school systems but entire communities.

“Anything you can do to increase access for your students and your community will come back to you and pay dividends.”

Read the full SBHC impact report

“Our mission is to help students become whatever it is they want to become: something that is going to make them happy, something that is going to help them contribute, to be able to raise a family. Whatever we need to do to help them get to that place is what we’re going to do. Part of that is taking care of their well-being.”

— Joseph Spiccia (Wickliffe, OH), former Superintendent, Wickliffe City School District Family Resource Center SBHC operated by Signature Health

“It is helping with school attendance as our kids are able to get that care quicker than they were able to - we are far away from other health care, even other urgent cares are not close. This allows them to step out of class, be seen, and then go back to class so that they’re not missing that class and education.”

— Amber Johnson (Felicity, OH), SBHC parent

Acknowledgements

School-based health centers — and the core principles that guide them — are embedded in the fabric of communities across Ohio. This deep connection is a testament to the dedication of community healthcare providers, school leaders, and community partners who have worked for years to build and strengthen Ohio’s SBHC infrastructure.

The meaningful progress highlighted in this report would not be possible without the tireless efforts of those on the ground: the health center staff, school administrators, nurses, teachers, social workers, families, and community who show up every day to support Ohio’s children.

We are especially grateful to the many individuals who shared their experiences, stories, and voices throughout this report — helping illustrate the real-world impact of this work.

This Impact Report was developed by the Ohio School-Based Health Alliance with primary funding from the Ohio Department of Health, and with ongoing support from the Ohio Alliance’s core funders.