The National School-Based Health Alliance honored Jane Hamilton, a registered nurse and practice manager of Bassett Healthcare Network’s School-Based Health Program, with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award July 2 in Washington, D.C.
The award celebrates a leader who has demonstrated a strong commitment to making an impact in school-based health, according to a news release.
The program is the largest rural program of its kind in New York state. The program exists to transcend common barriers to health care in rural areas, such as lack of insurance, lack of transportation and other socioeconomic factors, the release stated.
Hamilton helped establish Bassett’s School-Based Health Program when it opened its first clinic in 1992. Since then, she has helped expand and develop the program to include 22 clinics across 18 school districts in central New York. More than 7,000 pre-K-12 students are enrolled and receive medical, dental and mental health care at no out-of-pocket cost to families, the release stated.
“Bassett’s School-Based Health Program’s size and scope has been made possible due to incredible support from the organization, generous donors who believe in us, and of course, our school districts and communities,” Hamilton said in a statement. “It is a stunning collaboration. I am fiercely committed to the school-based health center paradigm and the critical preventive care it provides to children. Notably, we have made great strides with increased HPV vaccine rates working closely with the New York State HPV Vaccine Coalition.”
Dr. William Fredette, Bassett pediatrician and co-director of the School-Based Health Program, said that Hamilton “pours her heart and soul every day into making this program a part of the fabric of our schools and communities.”
“Because of Jane’s remarkable dedication, our communities and children are healthier,” he said.
Dr. Chris Kjolhede, also a Bassett pediatrician and former co-director of the School-Based Health Program, said that it has been “a true honor to work alongside Jane for more than three decades.”
“We make a difference in many lives every day,” Kjolhede said, “and it is because of our committed staff. Jane has been at the center of our efforts since the program’s inception. We owe a great deal of gratitude to Jane for her expertise, vision and tireless passion to improve the lives of our children and their families.”
Hamilton said that the School-Based Health Program not only connects children and families with needed care, it teaches children how to be good health consumers.
“School-based health helps kids understand the responsibility they have to take care of themselves, what to expect from a health care provider and empowers them to be their own advocates and become healthy adults,” she said. “Over 30 years ago, we opened our first school-based health center in Delhi. Today, we are caring for the children of the students who were first in our care, and few things are more rewarding than seeing the next generation of patients build healthy lives.”