Latest Wellness Center opens at Santee Education Complex

L.A. Trust Executive Director Maryjane Puffer addressed the importance of school-based wellness centers at the Santee Education Complex ribbon-cutting, December 2, 2019.

The newest LAUSD Student and Family Wellness Center opened December 2, 2019 at Santee Education Complex in South Los Angeles—and educators, students, clinicians and healthcare leaders welcomed the new facility in style.

Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health, said the benefits of school-based health centers are proven: “Students who get quality healthcare have better outcomes and less chronic disease than those who don’t.”

Puffer said. The L.A. Trust was proud to support the establishment of the new clinic early on, and to assist the growing LAUSD Wellness Center network, she said. 

The ceremonies were led by Los Angeles Unified Board Member Mónica García, who noted that the District has invested ten of millions of dollars building school-based wellness centers in high-need areas. An ebullient García led the crowd in applause for everyone who helped make the new center possible, from students and staff to advocates and taxpayers.

Speakers and ribbon-cutters included Kristina Tokes, LAUSD deputy chief facilities executive; Alicia Garoupa-Bollinger, representing Pia Escudero, executive director of LAUSD Student Health and Human Services; Martine Singer, CEO of the Children’s Institute; Joan Sullivan, CEO of the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools; and Santee Principal Susana Gutierrez.

Power of partnership

Three more Wellness Centers are currently on the drawing boards: Mendez High School in Boyle Heights (ground-breaking  held December 9), Maclay Middle School in Pacoima, and Hyde Park Elementary in South Los Angeles. A wellness center at Telfair Avenue Elementary in Pacoima opened in October.

The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health has supported the Wellness Center network since its inception in 2009, advocating for new centers, bringing programs, resources and education to students and community members, conducting clinician training, conducting research and establishing Student Advisory Boards to promote youth engagement. 

A program staff of nine is currently working on more than a dozen different initiatives impacting the health of L.A. students. In October, The L.A. Trust hosted its semi-annual Wellness Network Learning Collaborative focused on innovative approaches to HPV prevention, contraception awareness, and other urgent student health issues.

The future is data-driven

“The L.A. Trust provides a bridge between the education and healthcare community, and the Wellness Centers are the front door, for both students and community members,” said Puffer. “Our priority is prevention and education, especially in the critical areas of oral health, nutrition, tobacco and drug use, sexual and reproductive health, and, increasingly, mental health. We are proud to partner with government agencies, LAUSD and leading health and dental care providers to help make a difference in student health.” 

Going forward, The L.A. Trust’s Wellness Center support will be driven by data. The L.A. Trust’s innovative Data xChange initiative will link healthcare and educational performance data to find ways to improve healthcare strategies and educational outcomes. “This will not only help us deliver on our promise of improving the health of the LAUSD communities we serve, it will give us the insights we need to design programs and services that connect better healthcare to improved educational performance,” said Puffer.

Funding for the Data xChange comes from grants from Cedars-Sinai, Kaiser Permanente, DentaQuest and the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation , among others.

“The L.A. Trust is an independent nonprofit devoted to the students of the LAUSD, but the vast majority of our budget comes from outside funders and agencies,” Puffer said.  “These relationships help us serve as a bridge between the education and healthcare and connect the dots in student health.”

The L.A. Trust delivers nourishing ideas to LAUSD communities

L.A. Trust Health Educator Lillian Orta shares nutrition ideas and recipes with community members at the Fremont High School Fresh Food Fair. 

On a brilliant November morning, neighborhood residents are lined up near the UMAA Fremont Wellness Center to get into the Free Food Fair at Fremont High in South Los Angeles. The Fair offers pumpkins, mangoes, squash, lettuce and other fresh produce—and nutrition, health and recipe advice from The L.A. Trust’s Program Director Nina Nguyen and Health Educator Lillian Orta.

It’s all part of The L.A. Trust’s school and community outreach on behalf of CalFresh Healthy Living. The state program, formerly known as Champions for Change, is a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) initiative that supports healthy, active and nourished lifestyles by teaching low-income Californians about good nutrition and how to stretch their food dollars, while also “building partnerships in communities to make the healthy choice.”

In the field

The L.A. Trust works with LAUSD and the District’s school-based Wellness Centers to carry the CalFresh Healthy Living message to students and community members both. “It’s really rewarding to be a CalFresh Healthy Living partner,” said Nguyen. “Good health starts with good nutrition, and people really get engaged in our outreach,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt that fresh food looks and tastes so much better than cheap processed food.” 

Since October, Nguyen, Orta and L.A. Trust Program Manager Esther Yepez have travelled across Los Angeles to talk to students and community members about nutrition, physical activity and healthy beverage options (hint: water is better than soda). By March 2020, the team will have conducted 50  classroom sessions and appeared at two community events and two school events at five different sites in the District. They’ve also distributed thousands of brochures and recipe books in Spanish and English.   

“Eating healthy and staying active helps prevent so many long-term health issues—from tooth decay to obesity and diabetes,” Rico said. “In most instances, motivation is not the problem. Getting and preparing fresh food on a budget is the challenge, and we’re proud to partner with CalFresh Healthy Living to support our communities in meeting that challenge.”