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County‑district Healthy Schools partnership credits prevention work with fewer behavioral‑health emergency visits
Summary
Bend‑La Pine Schools and Deschutes County public health on April 8 presented preliminary outcome data from the Healthy Schools Initiative showing a reduction in youth behavioral‑health emergency visits in ZIP codes served by the program.
Bend‑La Pine Schools and Deschutes County public health on April 8 presented preliminary outcome data from the Healthy Schools Initiative and described how school‑based prevention, improved linkages to care and peer leadership are being used to reduce youth behavioral‑health crises.
The county’s school health supervisor, Dr. Amy Schneider, said the evaluation found fewer emergency department visits for behavioral‑health reasons among 11–17‑year‑olds living in ZIP codes served by Healthy Schools compared with ZIP codes without the program. “We have prevented 1 in 5 emergency department visits related to behavioral health for ages 11 to 17 living in ZIP codes with healthy schools,” Dr. Schneider said, summarizing the analysis.
Why it matters: The county‑district partnership embeds public‑health staff in schools to coordinate prevention programming, strengthen early‑intervention referrals and support curriculum and climate efforts. Staff said the initiative uses a whole‑school, whole‑child model and links classroom instruction to system‑level prevention and referral work.
Key program components: Presenters described five program areas — links to care, health education, family engagement, positive and inclusive school climate (including Sources of Strength peer leadership), and school health improvement planning. Schneider and Deschutes County staff said the initiative trained nearly 800 Sources of Strength peer leaders across middle and high schools and improved the proportion of adolescent Care Solace referrals that resulted in appointments.
Evidence and method: County public health said it used emergency‑department diagnostic codes for suicide attempts/ideation, depression, mental‑health and substance use and compared trends from 2019–2024 between ZIP codes with and without Healthy Schools. The analysis used a multi‑year comparison and a difference‑in‑difference model; presenters said the comparison controlled for pre‑existing trends.
Operational changes and results: Staff reported operational improvements in referrals — Care Solace appointment rates improved and the number of unreached referrals decreased after district and county outreach and awareness work. The county described a stepped approach: prevention and early intervention, curriculum alignment, family communication and a coordinated system of supports.
Limitations and next steps: Presenters noted some limits of the emergency‑department dataset, including limited demographic detail; county staff said additional outcome measures (student surveys and school indicators) will be included in a fuller fall 2025 outcome report. The presentation was informational; no board action was requested that night.
