New school-based clinics in Aurora

Obamacare is best known for efforts to expand health insurance coverage, but the Affordable Care Act also provides capital funds for school-based health clinics. Aurora Public Schools is one such beneficiary, receiving $475,000 to replace cramped clinics at Crawford and Laredo elementary schools this year.

The new Crawford Kids Clinic, which will host an open house today, opened last month in a larger stand-alone facility on school grounds. The old clinic, launched in 2008, was inside the school. The new Laredo clinic, which replaces one opened in 2010, is set be finished in June.

The two are the only two school-based clinics in the 41,000-student Aurora district. Both provide medical, dental and mental health services to elementary students in the district as well as younger siblings.

The two clinics are run through partnerships with several community health organizations, including the Rocky Mountain Youth Clinic, Aurora Mental Health Center and Children’s Hospital Colorado Pediatric Dentistry.