ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2013 The school board of Allentown School District voted Thursday night to recommend Lehigh Valley Health Network in partnership with Valley Health Partners as the exclusive health care partner for its new Family and Community Resource Center on the campus of Bridgeview Academy.<\/p>\n
The new collaboration will anchor the District\u2019s Family and Community Resource Center with comprehensive healthcare and community-based services.\u00a0<\/p>\n
LVHN, part of Jefferson Health, will handle the educational component, and Valley Health Partners is running the federally-qualified health center look-alike clinic, according to Valley Health Partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Further, while LVHN is a close hospital partner, and they are working on this project collaboratively,\u00a0VHP is a separate non-profit Community Health Center, VHP officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The partnership will allow for the operation of a comprehensive health clinic within the center, develop aligned health and wellness programming, and establish education-to-career pathways supporting the district\u2019s strategic priorities.<\/p>\n
With the recommendation, the district will negotiate and finalize a formal agreement.<\/p>\n
According to district documents<\/a>, the partnership allows for the provision of on-site access to primary care, behavioral health, dental and vision services. By reducing transportation costs and long wait times, officials said students are more likely to receive preventive care, mental health support and follow-up services that contribute to improved attendance, engagement and academic success.<\/p>\n Officials said health clinics are already operating in Hayes and Sheridan elementary schools.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have been invaluable in supporting our students. I just want to underscore that,\u201d Superintendent Carol Birks said.<\/p>\n Students will also gain exposure to health care career pathways, experiential learning opportunities and workforce development programming, creating both immediate health supports and long-term educational and economic opportunities, according to board documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been years in the making\u2026 Knowing we\u2019re going to build upon this partnership is very exciting,\u201d school board President Andrene Brown-Nowell said.<\/p>\n ASD held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Family and Community Resource Center on Jan. 9. It will be located on the campus of the Bridgeview Academy, a theme-based high school that offers academic pathways in artificial intelligence, allied health and computer science. The school was formerly known as Building 21.<\/p>\n