Chronic school absenteeism directly affects educational outcomes while reducing school funding and reimbursement. Asthma is a prevalent disease associated with chronic absenteeism. This quality improvement project demonstrated classroom seat time preserved through use of school-based health centers (SBHC). The project also highlights the educational benefits, reduced emergency department utilization, potential cost savings to hospitals, and lower overall health care costs. Visit summary data were collected and analyzed to show quality asthma care and cost savings. Of 44 acute asthma visits that returned to class, an average classroom time of 3:42 hours were saved per student during the 2017-2018 academic year, resulting in a combined total of 166:07 hours saved. A minimum potential cost savings was estimated to be $67,770 for all 44 visits. Data analysis of structural, process, and outcome measures through quality improvement tools can demonstrate cost savings of SBHC care, which advocates funding for this pediatric care model.
Keywords: absenteeism; asthma; cost-saving; educational seat time; quality improvement; school-based health.