Santa Maria Sun / News

Political Watch 7-2

• In an effort to improve children’s access to quality primary health services, Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-California), along with Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-California), and Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Michigan), introduced the School-Based Health Clinic Establishment Act of 2009. If passed, the legislation would provide primary health care services to medically underserved communities at school-based health clinics. The legislation would also provide a consistent, dedicated stream of federal funding to support the school-based health clinics. “This is a smart investment in our young people that will improve their health and their academic performance,” Capps, a former school nurse and vice-chair of the Health Subcommittee, said in a press release. “Too often our children are prevented from achieving their full potential because they have inadequate access to preventive and primary health care services.” The clinics will work to address health-related risks facing school-aged children, such as school violence, injury, asthma, obesity, and tobacco use.