Children's Wellness Center
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In 1995, concerned about the lack of health care resources for their students, the Del Valle Independent School District (DVISD) began discussions with the School of Nursing at The University of Texas at Austin. From March through September 1995, a community needs assessment was conducted. Health status, school attendance, medical resources, and other data were collected. As a result of the study, the Children's Wellness Center (CWC) opened at Popham Elementary School in April 1996 with funding from the Texas Department of Health. 
Since that time there have been more than 8,500 client visits to the center, including more than 5,000 immunizations and 3,000 well and sick child visits. CWC offers home visits, well and sick child health care, immunizations, sports physicals, vision and hearing screens, parenting consultation and education, parent support groups, mental health counseling, a prescription voucher program, case management and referral, and home visits for adolescent mothers. 
The Children's Wellness Center has a three-part mission: health care provider, clinical teaching model, and nursing research site. CWC is a nurse-managed, school-based health center operated in cooperation with DVISD, the Texas University Affiliated Program, and the People's Community Clinic. Dr. Leslie Aiello, MD, is the medical director. 
UT nursing students have been involved in all phases of the development and operation of the center. Undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students have worked directly with families and participated in program planning, evaluation, and research. Doctoral students from the UT Department of Educational Psychology and Bilingual Special Education have provided mental health services and learning ability assessments. The center is now a model site for Touchpoints, a Boston-based training program associated with the pediatrician Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, professor emeritus, Harvard Medical School. 
Dr. Melanie Percy, assistant professor in the UT School of Nursing and former CWC project director, is a pediatric nurse practitioner and coordinator of the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner concentration at the School of Nursing. According to Percy, "The opportunity to provide hands-on learning experiences for our students and to serve the community is an ideal situation for the Nursing School. The difference in the students' understanding of the real world of heath care has been dramatic." In addition to its initial support from the Texas Department of Health, the Children's Wellness Center has received funding from Advanced Micro Devices, the Austin Community Foundation, Motorola, St. David's Healthcare Foundation (Austin), the Travis County Medical Alliance, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and in-kind support from the Texas University Affiliated Program. In January 2000, the Center moved to a new $140,000 facility funded by the Del Valle ISD and built on the Del Valle Alternative School Campus. UT Assistant Professor Diane Tyler (RN, PhD, CS) is the current director of the Children's Wellness Center.
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