HJBR Sep/Oct 2024

42 SEP / OCT 2024 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE CHILDREN’S HEALTH COLUMN CHILDREN’S HEALTH IN the Fall of 2023, Children’s Hospital New Orleans’ ThriveKids student wellness program began a partnership with NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) to bring health services directly to kids in schools to en- hance the mental and physical well-being of children. The partnership expanded upon services already underway with Jef- ferson Parish Schools, bringing care co- ordination, access to services, and health resources to students and their families, with a strong focus on mental healthcare and violence prevention. In 2023, ThriveKids also began a part- nership with Agenda for Children, which provides care coordination and resources for some of New Orleans’ earliest learners, in total creating a network of 180 campus- es across Jefferson and Orleans Parish- es, with the potential to reach more than 100,000 children from birth through grad- uation. The NOLA-PS partnership was made possible with support from the city of New Orleans and the New Orleans Health De- partment, utilizing $10 million in funding from American Rescue Plan dollars for an initial three-year period with a commit- ment for long-term programmatic sup- port. After the first year in NOLA-PS, ThriveKids is already making a significant impact in supporting the vast mental and overall health challenges that are affecting young people. With an approach that as- sesses the social drivers of health, dedicat- ed teams are working with schools to en- sure students are healthy, safe, and ready to learn. ThriveKids dedicated around- the-clock resources to help identify needs, get kids connected to the support and re- sources they need, and ensure they didn’t fall through the cracks. The partnership offers a combination of direct clinical services and care manage- ment for both medical and mental health needs via a multidisciplinary team of more than 30 full-time experts. Every NOLA-PS Bridging Health & Education Sectors TO CREATE A HEALTHIER FUTURE FOR KIDS