Caring for our kids

04/30/2019

For over 20 years, Banner Children’s Community Clinics
have provided preventive and acute medical care
to uninsured and underinsured school-aged children.

With the addition of the Children’s
HealthMobile in 2013, the program
expanded its reach to serve
outlying areas of the Valley.

Many low-income families in Arizona face challenges when it comes to accessing health care for their children, including inadequate health insurance coverage, the inability to pay for services, transportation difficulties, language barriers, and simply a lack of awareness of available health care resources.

Children who lack access to basic medical care are at risk for a variety of problems, including poor nutrition, lack of proper immunization, delayed physical growth, higher absenteeism from school, and lower academic performance. In the worst cases, serious illnesses in children may go undiagnosed and progress until they become chronic or even life-threatening.

Preventative care keeps children healthy and allows them to thrive while at the same time reducing the need for costly medical treatments in the future and preventing unnecessary visits to emergency departments for primary care.

Each year, the program serves
some 3,500 children in a safe,
comfortable, and culturally
competent environment.

For over 20 years, Banner Children’s Community Clinics have provided preventive and acute medical care to uninsured and underinsured school-aged children in the Valley. Each year, the program serves some 3,500 children in a safe, comfortable, and culturally competent environment.

The Banner Children’s Community Clinics are funded entirely by charitable gifts to the Banner Health Foundation. Year after year, these gifts come from generous individuals and families like you, from local charitable foundations and businesses, and even from Banner Health employees who choose to support the program.

These funds enable the Community Clinics, staffed by pediatric or family nurse practitioners, to offer young patients a range of services—from well-care visits, flu vaccines, sports physicals and treatment of common illnesses to in-depth care for major and chronic health problems and referrals to highly specialized care, when needed.

Expanding reach and impact

With the addition of the Children’s HealthMobile in 2013, the program expanded its reach to serve outlying areas of the Valley. With nurse practitioners, bilingual medical assistants, and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) on board, the HealthMobile operates four days per week, serving children in rural communities. The HealthMobile also gives providers the opportunity to educate parents about the importance of regular check-ups, good nutrition, exercise, dental hygiene, and more.

The Community Clinics have formed partnerships with groups such as Reach Out and Read to promote literacy, St. Mary’s Food Bank to provide food bags to families struggling with hunger, our very own Banner Children’s Specialists to provide low-cost specialty care, Keogh Health Connection to provide eligibility and enrollment services, and local low-cost pharmacies to provide affordable prescriptions when children need medication.

Banner Children’s Community Clinics and the HealthMobile are lifelines for those in our community who lack resources for accessing care.