'What most kids need': How one school community got SMART when its rural hospital closed


School Health Model for Academics Reaching All and Transforming Lives (SMART) clinics are school-based clinics that fill in rural healthcare gaps. SMART clinics are fully funded for three years and then must be self-sustaining. Nurse practitioners and physicians provide routine medical care, like checkups and treating minor illnesses and injuries. Licensed social workers assess the needs of each student and provide onsite counseling, which has reduced the stigma of seeking mental health treatments. Care is free to all students, while community members who use the clinic are billed a co-pay.

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