CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL NEW ORLEANS AND NOLA PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE POSITIVELY IMPACTING STUDENTS’ MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH AS THRIVEKIDS PARTNERSHIP ENTERS ITS SECOND YEAR

The partnership, which will expand into six additional target schools for the 2024-2025 academic year, helps drive positive health and academic outcomes for New Orleans youth.

NEW ORLEANS – In the Fall of 2023, Children's Hospital New Orleans' ThriveKids Student Wellness Program began a partnership with NOLA Public Schools to bring health services directly to kids in schools to enhance the mental and physical well-being of children. The partnership brings care coordination, access to services and health resources to students and their families, with a strong focus on mental health care and violence prevention.

The partnership was made possible with support from the City of New Orleans, New Orleans City Council and New Orleans Health Department utilizing $10M in funding from American Rescue Plan dollars for an initial three-year period, with a commitment for long-term programmatic support.

"After the first year, ThriveKids is already making a significant impact in supporting the vast mental and overall health challenges that are affecting young people," said Children's Hospital President and CEO Lucio A. Fragoso. "Our innovative approach assesses the social drivers of health to ensure students are healthy, safe and ready to learn. Simply put – ThriveKids is working with schools around-the-clock to help identify needs, get kids connected to the support and resources they need and ensure they don't fall through the cracks. And together with NOLA Public Schools, we are making a meaningful difference, one student at a time."

The ThriveKids partnership offers a combination of direct clinical services and care management for both medical and mental health needs via a multidisciplinary team of more than 30 full-time experts. Every NOLA Public Schools student can benefit from the program, while schools identified with the highest needs have received further intensive support. 

In year one, ThriveKids provided on-site staff in 14 target schools identified with the most significant needs, along with care coordination across the entire 76+ campus district. This included connecting students with a dedicated psychiatric care team and helping facilitate re-engagement following extended absence due to trauma, juvenile detention or other significant life events or challenges.

"We have witnessed this unprecedented $10 million investment for medical and mental health support for our youth make a true difference in our community," said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. "My administration is immensely proud to stand with our partners Children's Hospital New Orleans and NOLA Public Schools to ensure the well-being and success of all our young people. Together, we saw the immediate need to address the mental health crisis among our youth, which was only exacerbated by the pandemic, and to destigmatize the need for mental health support. We understand that our children cannot thrive academically or in life unless their needs are met, including their physical health, mental health, safety and overall well-being, which is why we are prioritizing this holistic approach."

Here in New Orleans, children face unprecedented levels of trauma, and benefit from this innovative approach that bridges healthcare and education. New Orleans youth experience four times the national average for rates of PTSD, with 54% having experienced the murder of someone close to them. Additionally, less than half of youth who experience trauma receive any form of mental health services. Together, ThriveKids and NOLA Public Schools aim to change that.

"ThriveKids has partnered closely with our educators and families to support student health, mental well-being, and academic growth throughout the past school year," said NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Avis Williams. "By implementing targeted interventions to reduce social, environmental, and health-related barriers to learning, we have identified collective solutions to address the challenges our scholars face, significantly enhancing their quality of life. The impact is evident through both the personal stories and the compelling data."

Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, 3,815 individual counseling sessions were delivered with an additional 892 completed mental health visits with the advanced psychiatric care team. Last year, nearly 900 students also received care coordination from full-time ThriveKids coordinators who worked to remove barriers and connect students with the specialized care needed, across 63 NOLA Public Schools campuses. On top of this, more than 700 connections were made for health needs ranging from psychiatry and counseling to ophthalmology, dentistry and primary care.

The ThriveKids program also works to remove any barrier at hand, such as transportation or language assistance. Just last year, more than 700 free rides were provided to families across the Greater New Orleans area to help parents access the follow-up appointments their children need.

"I am excited by the foundation that was established throughout the first year of the ThriveKids partnership with NOLA Public Schools to build a long-term system of care," said Dr. Jennifer Avegno, Director, City of New Orleans Health Department. "By working together, we are providing immediate resources for our children, and decreasing barriers for families to access care. We are seeing the direct impact and look forward to expanding the reach in the 2024-2025 school year."

ThriveKids has further supported school partners by providing ongoing professional development opportunities, and community outreach events such as its suicide prevention awareness program, which holds assemblies with middle and high school students to help raise awareness and support for this leading cause of death in kids and teens. ThriveKids also joined forces with NOLA Public Schools, the Office of Youth and Families and other valued community partners to help kids and families get back to school ready by holding the annual Back to School Boogaloo event at Joe Brown Park in New Orleans East. The second annual event, held July 13, reached more than 2,500 families providing free school supplies, sports physicals, immunizations, haircuts, dental fluoride treatments, complimentary meals and health and wellness resources from dozens of vendors. 

Looking ahead into the 2024-2025 school year, plans for continued growth and impact across NOLA Public Schools include growing the number of target schools with on-site staff to 20 total schools, expanding care coordination to reach more students across New Orleans, growing the advanced psychiatric care team to increase capacity and expanding reach through community partnerships to serve those most in need. ThriveKids also plans to establish a Youth and Families Advisory Council, and convene community stakeholders to inform policy, programming and strategy moving forward. Learn more about ThriveKids by visiting www.chnola.org/ThriveKids.

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About NOLA Public Schools: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish. It includes the district's administration and elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 67 public schools and is led by Superintendent Dr. Avis Williams, the first woman in the District's 181 years to serve as its permanent superintendent. For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools.

About the New Orleans Health Department: The mission of the New Orleans Health Department is to promote, protect, and improve the health of all in our community through equitable policies, programs, and partnerships. The Health Department aims to build a healthy and equitable New Orleans by supporting the well-being of everyone in the region. Learn more at www.nola.gov/health-department.

About Children's Hospital New Orleans: Children's Hospital New Orleans is a 263-bed, non-profit academic pediatric medical center that offers comprehensive healthcare services, including over 40 pediatric specialties, delivered just for children. With more than 600 pediatric providers, Children's offers a comprehensive array of pediatric healthcare services in Louisiana and the Gulf South. In addition to its main campus located in New Orleans, the hospital operates a network of specialty clinics across Louisiana, including in Covington, Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Lafayette, and Diamondhead, MS. Children's offers primary care services at 14 convenient locations and via its Virtual Care for Kids program. Children's is a proud member of LCMC Health, a Louisiana-based, not-for-profit hospital system which also includes New Orleans East Hospital, Touro, University Medical Center New Orleans, West Jefferson Medical Center, East Jefferson General Hospital, Tulane Medical Center, Lakeview Hospital, and Lakeside Hospital. Learn more at chnola.org.

About ThriveKids: In the fall of 2020, Children's Hospital New Orleans launched ThriveKids, the Student Wellness Project, a multispecialty program intended to increase access to healthcare for kids where they spend most of their time – at school. The program was born out of the hospital's support of schools at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and quickly evolved into a comprehensive health program that bridges the health and education sectors. ThriveKids, now nearly three years into formal programming, aims to improve both academic and health outcomes by getting the right resources to the right kids at the right time. The program helps staff schools with trained medical and mental health professionals, coordinates with schools to provide healthcare to children, and offers ongoing education for school faculty and partners. ThriveKids currently supports 180 campuses across Jefferson and Orleans parishes, consisting of more than 100,000 students combined. NOLA-PS students can enroll in the program online at www.chnola.org/thrivekids.