Drake Elementary's new student health center is slated to open next year. (WBEZ / Flickr)

Chicago officials are turning a possible public health hazard into a benefit for children and students in Bronzeville.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday announced the opening of a new state-of-the-art health center based at Drake Elementary School that will serve more than 400 students on-site and hundreds more from schools in the nearby Bronzeville neighborhood.

That facility will be funded, in part, by revenue collected through a new citywide tax on e-cigarettes, which Emanuel says has allowed the city to “double down” on its commitment to expand school-based health through five school centers by the end of 2019.

“From passing a series of reforms to curb youth smoking, to increasing access to health care for children and families citywide, we are making investments that will help our kids across the city to grow up healthy,” he said in a press release.

The Drake Health and Wellness Center – slated for completion in 2017 – will outfit existing space on school grounds to serve as a full-service primary care office. That space will include four exam rooms, an ADA compliant bathroom and attached lab, a group meeting room and an administrative office.

Until the new facility is completed, Drake will continue offering care this year through a partnership with the University of Illinois at Chicago and UI Health Mile Square Health.

The tax, enacted last year, originally imposed a $1.25 fee for each e-cigarette “product” and another $0.25 for each milliliter of “consumable liquid, gel, or other solution” used with the device. An amendment ordinance was later introduced and approved by the City Council dropping the product fee down to $0.80 while increasing the liquid nicotine fee up to $0.55 per milliliter.

Chicago officials previously banned the usage of e-cigarettes inside bars, restaurants and other public venues in 2014.

In total, the city has committed $2 million in new revenue generated through the e-cig tax to support youth health.

In addition to children at Drake – a neighborhood school serving mostly African-American students located on the 2700 block of South Dearborn Street – students from 20 other schools in the Bronzeville area will also have access to the new health center at no out-of-pocket cost to their families.

“As a doctor and a mother, I know that our children must be healthy before they can be successful in the classroom,” Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Julie Morita said in a press release. “Health issues still stand today as one of the leading barriers to school attendance, which is why we work closely with CPS to ensure that all of our learners across the city have the care that they and their families need to achieve success in the classroom.”

Currently, the city has 32 school-based health centers providing services such as: immunizations, physical exams, sports physicals, reproductive healthcare, behavioral healthcare, chronic condition management and acute care.

Chicago Public School-based health centers serve approximately 21,000 students and families at no-cost each year.

Follow Matt Masterson on Twitter: @byMattMasterson

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