Image © Gensler
At KIPP Public Charter Schools in Houston, the school nurse’s office has morphed from a place that provides Band-Aids into a mini health clinic offering an array of services for students. A unique partnership between KIPP and Legacy Community Health Services is creating what could become a new model for health care delivery on school campuses.
Gensler got involved in this partnership by rethinking the school clinic on eight KIPP campuses. We wanted to create spaces that would serve the student population and could eventually be broadened to serve students’ families and the larger community. The thought behind this bold move comes from the realization that healthier students perform better in school and that many of KIPP’s students do not have adequate access to quality health care.
Legacy operates the KIPP clinics, which offer physicals, prescriptions, treatment for chronic conditions and even psychotherapy. They have, in a sense, privatized the school nurse’s office. The schools are seeing dramatic results from the expanded care—attendance has increased and the general health of the students and their families has improved. In each of the operating clinics, the school nurse has been joined by two or more Legacy nurse practitioners.
Image © Gensler
Because the KIPP schools operate on a limited budget, Gensler had to be very efficient in designing the new clinics. We created spaces about the size of a classroom (700-800 square feet), with three-to-five beds, an ADA compliant restroom, utility space, office space, and a private examination room where a visiting physician or psychologist can treat students.
According to KIPP Co-Founder Michael Feinberg, Legacy bills each child’s family’s Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program or private insurance plan provider. If the family cannot provide insurance, the clinic charges a $25 fee. His goal is to expand the population served by the clinics to families and the neighboring community.
This posed a particular challenge during the design process due to the need to protect students while providing access to clinic services to an outside population. Gensler tackled this challenge by placing the clinics within the school’s main office secured from the student population. To gain access to the clinic, visitors must provide an ID and be buzzed into the building.
Gensler’s history with KIPP goes back more than 15 years. We’ve done all of the architecture and master planning for their 22 schools in Houston and helped them develop schools in New York and North Carolina. Gensler has also had a long relationship with Legacy developing community clinics in Houston’s Montrose area as well as in southwest Houston. Working with both these great clients to create such an exciting new program was very gratifying.
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Barry Moore's work has, in the words of one journalist, "serendipitously been focused on institutions of learning." As a senior associate in Gensler's Houston office, he has worked with the High School for Performing and Visual Arts and the Julia Ideason Library. Contact Barry at barry_moore@gensler.com. |