The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has announced a $4 million grant to School Health Connection, an affiliate of the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI), to help increase access to physical and behavioral health services for New Orleans children and their families through school-based health centers.

Expanding a 2006 Kellogg-funded LPHI program that helped rebuild school-based health centers destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and developed new centers in underserved areas, the grant will enable SHC and its partners to improve existing primary care services and make those services available to students at nearby schools that do not have health centers.

The grant also will be used to help implement comprehensive school wellness programs that feature enhanced health curricula, increased physical activity for students, staff health and wellness screenings, and the promotion of better nutrition for staff and students.

"School-based health is not only about providing clinical services to students, it is about creating a culture of health in schools, where our youth spend the majority of their day," said School Health Connection director Marsha Broussard. "This grant affords us the opportunity to take school-based health to the next level by implementing comprehensive wellness programs; it is an investment for a healthier generation of underserved and at-risk populations."