Signature CareVan® Program expands from 12 mobile vans to include stationary sites at two North Texas school districts
CareVan@School is The Caring Foundation of Texas’ newest initiative to reduce barriers to preventive health care, like immunizations, by taking those services right to the source: school.
Irving ISD was the first to a launch a CareVan@School site in 2020, and the initiative quickly expanded to Plano ISD in 2022. Since starting, 3,383 students have received 7,818 vaccines, saving more than $600,000 in immunization costs.
“Students are already at school, and setting up CareVan@School removed a barrier of missing additional days because a student didn’t have their mandatory vaccinations,” said Karyn Beauchamp, Director of Clinic and Health Services at Irving ISD. “This is an amazing opportunity to increase access for children in the school district to be protected from childhood diseases at no cost to their families.”
More growth is on the horizon. The Caring Foundation of Texas will help the next North Texas school district launch a CareVan@School site, hopefully later this year, following state approvals.
The Caring Foundation of Texas, founded in 1991 to reduce barriers to preventative health care for uninsured or underinsured Texas children and families, mobilized their outreach efforts through its signature CareVan® Program in 1997. For the past two decades, the CareVan mobile program has grown to 12 mobile units with 12 partners across Texas that offer varying services based on the needs their communities, such as immunizations, screenings, dental care and education.
Then a new barrier popped up in the form of a world-wide pandemic. Mobile clinics, with vans scheduled to zip from request to request and attend health fairs, church events, schools and community meetings, were cancelled overnight.
“New challenges created pathways for new opportunities to invest in healthier futures for Texas children and their families,” said Sheena Payne, Executive Director for The Caring Foundation of Texas. “For more than 30 years, we’ve been dedicated to improving health care access throughout the state and finding innovative ways, like the school-based initiative, to expand our partnerships. We want to be nimble so we can meet evolving needs.”
Even with CareVan mobile units back on the road, the Foundation’s CareVan@School is paving a new stationary and sustainable branch of the CareVan Program through the steady flow of children and families reached by being directly incorporated in school districts.
A deep-dive into Texas immunization rates show Houston has some of the worst childhood immunization rates in the United States, according to the CDC. In addition, Texas, as the second most populous state behind California, is ranked No. 1 for most uninsured residents. According to an article from Texas State Comptroller, more than 25 percent of uninsured residents reside in Texas’ largest cities, and the uninsured rate jumped 15 percent due to the pandemic.
One way the State of Texas tackles these disparities is through their Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) “Texas Vaccine for Children” (TVFC) program, which provides immunizations to children who might not otherwise be vaccinated because of their inability to pay. In order to distribute their vaccines quicker, DSHS partners with qualified TVFC providers, such as The Caring Foundation of Texas, to amplify their reach.
“We’re grateful to have a long history as a TVFC provider, which uniquely positions us to help other organizations navigate the application process,” Payne said. “In addition, when we help school districts establish their CareVan@School sites, we also offer mentorship through onboarding, vaccine management and TVFC site visits.”
To qualify for TVFC immunizations, children must be 18 years or younger and meet at least one of the following criteria: uninsured, underinsured, enrolled in Medicaid or American Indian or Alaskan Native.
The Caring Foundation of Texas has helped administer more than 1.4 million immunizations and plans to grow CareVan@School across the state with interested school districts, as well as sustain its signature mobile CareVan Program.
“We have such a generous provider community – we couldn’t accomplish these health goals without the dedication from our current operation partners,” Payne said. “Collaboration is key to ensure Texas children and their families have ongoing access to free, convenient preventive care and education for the foreseeable future.”
Contact the Caring Foundation at info@carevan.org to learn more about adding a CareVan@School site in your district.