State Department of Health: School Health Services Case Study

For nearly a decade, one state’s school health system faced mounting pressure across 67 counties as student enrollment grew, medical needs became more complex, and the required school-based services expanded year over year. Between 2020 and 2023 alone, the number of students needing medication at school increased by nearly 50%, reported student health conditions rose to nearly 890,000 annually, and core school health services exceeded 26 million per year statewide.

At the same time, the state’s nurse-to-student ratio remained far above the nationally recommended 1:750 benchmark, averaging more than 1 nurse for every 2,400 students in recent years. With insufficient coverage, schools increasingly relied on unlicensed assistive personnel (UAPs); students were dismissed early due to untreated symptoms, chronic conditions were harder to manage, and instructional time was lost.

To stabilize and strengthen care statewide, the State Department of Health engaged SnapCare to implement a scalable, flexible staffing solution designed for government-scale execution.

Key Outcomes

During the 2024–2025 school year, SnapCare helped deliver measurable statewide impact:

• 418+ licensed nurses deployed

• 580+ schools supported

• 600K+ students served

• Nurse-to-student ratio improved to 1 RN per 1,818 students (27% improvement)

• 2-day average time-to-fill

• <13% clinician turnover

• 1.4M services delivered in 2024–2025; 26M+ services delivered statewide since 2022

Beyond staffing, the program supported stronger visibility and accountability through a Medical Services Dashboard connecting 4,000+ schools, enabling real-time tracking and centralized reporting across districts and county health departments.

See How The Program Scaled Across 67 Counties

This is a high-level overview of the program and outcomes. Read the full case study to explore the full implementation model, operational improvements, and the statewide impact in more detail.