Johnson: Health Care Reform Adding New School-Based Clinic in Sioux Falls
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) announced today that the City of Sioux Falls will receive a $500,000 federal grant from the health care reform law to create another school-based clinic. The clinic, to be established at Hayward Elementary to provide primary and dental care to students, will be the third of its kind in Sioux Falls.
"I have seen firsthand the success of school-based clinics in Sioux Falls and I am proud that health care reform made investments to establish more of these facilities," Johnson said. "Community health centers provide high quality health care to some our most vulnerable citizens, regardless of their ability to pay. Expanding these services to school-based clinics ensures greater access for all."
The City of Sioux Falls Health Department will receive a $500,000 federal grant to establish a new school-based clinic at Hayward Elementary. The other school-based clinics are located at Terry Redlin Elementary and Hawthorne Elementary, where Johnson visited the school-based clinic last year.
Also receiving one of the highly competitive grants from the Department of Health and Human Services is the Community Health Center of Black Hills, Inc. in Rapid City, which received a $112,915 federal grant to add additional exam rooms and upgrade dental equipment at the General Beadle School-Based Community Clinic.
School-based clinics reduce barriers to care and improve the overall health and well-being of children. They provide complete primary and dental care not only for students but also members of the community, regardless of the patient's economic status.
The Affordable Care Act is already making an impact in South Dakota. Benefits already enacted include a ban on insurance companies dropping kids off their plan because of a pre-existing condition, tax credits for small businesses to help them afford coverage for their employees, the creation of a temporary high-risk pool for adults with pre-existing conditions and expanding the time young adults can stay on their parents' insurance to age 26.
