Facts About Our Healthcare Services
School Based Health Centers
- SBHCs remove barriers to care that students and families might otherwise encounter including transportation issues, loss of school/work time for appointments, and a lack of qualified health care practitioners.
- SBHCs increase the number of safety net providers accessible to high-risk children (especially for behavioral health services).
- Parents must sign a permission form to receive services.
- All services are confidential.
- SBHCs can bill Medicaid and Husky for services covered by these health plans.
IHS Service Delivery Overview
The 2022-23 academic school year marked a renewed focus on capacity-building of the organization. IHS partnered with families, schools, funders, and other stakeholders to effectively and efficiently address the challenges being experienced by students.
This was also a year of continued focus on re-engaging students and families, some of whom remained less engaged—possibly as an on-going residual impact of being isolated during the pandemic. This was evident in the down-turn of enrollment across the board at each school.
Enrollment
The visits to the SBHC were most pronounced for the high school scholars, with concentrated participation in behavioral health services.
- The scholar enrollment at Connecticut River Academy (CTRA) was 254, 56% of the school population.
- The scholar enrollment at Connecticut River Academy Middle School was 83, 35% of the school population.
- The scholar enrollment at Riverside Magnet School (RMS), for mental health services, was 77, 17% of the school population.
Behavioral Visits
- The visits to the SBHC were most pronounced for the high school scholars, with concentrated participation in behavioral health services.
- There were 1,035 behavioral health visits conducted with school scholars throughout the academic year.
- 863 of the total behavioral health visits focused on individual counseling to address prevalent issues to include anxiety, depression, absent parent, and social isolation.
Healthcare Visits
School Nursing Services by School:
Student utilization of school nursing services at the elementary school level, Riverside Magnet School, led to the installation of a Health Aid to support the nurse in the following school years.
Dental Visits
- During academic year 2022-23, across the Goodwin University Magnet Schools, 100 students were enrolled in the SBHC for dental services. Those students had 867 dental procedures, including, exams (190), fillings (153), cleanings (134), x-rays (120), sealants (88), risk assessment of caries (58), fluoride treatments (57), and 10 general check-ins.
While enrollment in the SBHC has not returned to the pre-pandemic numbers, the demand for services continue to outpace the SBHC capacity.
The IHS Board of Directors, administrators, and staff are diligent in efforts to expand existing services and initiate services in other high need communities.
Stephanie Begen retired in 2021 after 44 years as an educator in the greater Hartford region. She began her career as an elementary Special Education Teacher in Hartford and wrapped up the last 22 years of her career as a middle school Special Education Teacher in Berlin. Along the way she also worked at the Capitol Region Education Council as a Curriculum Specialist for the vocational high school, the University of Connecticut, Division of Child and Family Studies, as a Training Associate, and at Newington Children’s Hospital as a Patient/Team Coordinator for the PEDAL program. Stephanie was a passionate educator working with families/caregivers, service providers and outside agencies to ensure that her students’ educational, emotional, and healthcare needs were met. Communication, collaboration and advocacy were the hallmarks of Stephanie’s career.
Yanira Nazario is a Universal Banker at M&T Bank, with over 15 years of experience in banking. She is passionate about the community she serves and dedicated her time volunteering in and around Hartford County. 
Nestor Leon has over 25 years of workforce development experience. He has designed, implemented and monitored programs that provide pathways to economic self-sufficiency. He has coordinated programs in multiple states such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Virginia that resulted in improved access for low-income customers. He is currently working with the Connecticut State College and Universities (CSCU) on a 35-million-dollar statewide healthcare and social work initiative.
James Cornell is the Senior Manager of Accounting Compliance at Hartford Steam Boiler. For the last 17 years, he has provided his assurance and financial analysis experience to healthcare and insurance entities in Connecticut. He joined the IHS board in May 2023.
Dr. Andrew Feller is a Family Physician who currently works with Trinity Health of New England. For the last 20+ years, he has split his time working as a family doctor in East Hartford, taking care of hospitalized patients at St. Francis Hospital, and teaching residents and medical students at University of CT in Farmington. 
Matthew Cholewa is an attorney with over 30 years of experience. Matt has spent about half his career in private practice and half in the title insurance industry and is currently employed with Old Republic National Title Insurance Company as First Vice President & Senior Underwriting Counsel for its Commercial Agency Services office based in Hartford, Connecticut. While in private practice, Matt’s practice consisted of commercial and residential real estate transactions, real property related litigation, zoning, tax appeals and other small business matters.
Dr. Saunders is a staff psychologist working at the Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital and is also Board Certified in Clinical Psychology. She is the Director of the new initiative, the Center for Gender Health at Hartford Healthcare. In 2015, Dr. Saunders was named Employee of the Year for Hartford Hospital and in 2019, she was the recipient of the Ned Graffagnino Award for distinguished service in the areas of community-oriented work and collaboration with other mental health professionals. Her areas of expertise include LGBTQ mental health, child psychopathology, behavior management, parent training, and family therapy. She appears regularly in local TV news to provide psychological input on topics relevant to youth and families and currently has two weekly segments on WFSB/Ch. 3 Great Day CT, related to child mental health. 
Joe Murphy is a Certified Financial Planner™ at Gateway Financial Partners. He has over 40 years of experience in Wealth Management and Investment Planning, including working with teams in the bank investment arena. 
Kareen Wilson is a team leader, owner, and patient-therapist at Contemporary General Dentistry in West Hartford, CT, and Smile Studio Dentistry in Hartford, CT. Kareen also works as an adjunct professor in the leadership program at Goodwin University. She has over twenty-five years of experience in clinical dental hygiene and office management. 
Jeff Walsh is a graduate of Babson College in Wellesley, MA, with a degree in Accounting. Prior to joining CRT as their CFO, Jeff worked in public accounting for 19 years, specializing in non-profit and governmental audits throughout the northeast region. Jeff has extensive experience with the Federal Single Audit and State of Connecticut Single Audit requirements, in addition to Form 990 preparation and indirect cost rate calculations. 
For over 25 years Doug Edwards has been a family services consultant who designs and facilitates fatherhood-focused programs. He provides professional development and training for family workers at state and non-profit human services agencies.