School-based health services: An essential component of neighborhood transformation

School-based health centers have been recognized as an important strategy for improving access to health care for children. In addition, school-based health services help schools promote higher levels of academic performance by keeping children in school healthy and ready to learn. Lessons from more recent evaluations point to the need to develop programs that more comprehensively address the needs of children. The Sandtown-Winchester school-based health center program, developed by the University of Maryland School of Nursing, has been designed as part of a comprehensive neighborhood transformation initiative and holds the promise of improving the outcomes for children and families in this impoverished community.