OPEN MORE DOORS: Minnesota School-Based Health Summit

November 13, 2025

We're excited to invite you to Open More Doors in 2025: the MN School-Based Health Center Summit. This event gathers healthcare professionals and administrators, school nurses, educators and administrators, community leaders, caregivers and change-makers dedicated to improving student health outcomes across Minnesota.

Participants will experience:

·        Engaging keynote presentations from renowned experts in school-based healthcare.

·        Interactive break-out sessions focused on actionable strategies to support student wellness.

·        Opportunities to network and collaborate with peers across diverse sectors.

Key takeaways will include innovative approaches to student mental health, new approaches to dental care access in schools, practical strategies for sustaining school-based healthcare, and insights into emerging trends in pediatric and adolescent health from nutrition to social media to diabetes care.

Join us in creating healthier, stronger communitieS!

 

DETAILS

DATE AND TIME: November 13, 2025

  • SUMMIT: 7:45 AM – 5:00 PM

  • EVENING RECEPTION: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

LOCATION: St. Catherine’s University, 2004 Randolph Ave, Saint Paul, MN

 

Register

  • Register for the summit as an individual

  • Register a group and receive a discount when you register 5+ attendees

Get Involved

  • Volunteer

  • Become an Event Sponsor

  • Exhibit, Table, or Present a Poster

 

What Is the MNSBHA Summit?

Purpose:
Come together. Join Minnesota’s leading healthcare, education, and community professionals to unlock new solutions for student health and school-based care. The MNSBHA Summit 2025 is a transformative event uniting healthcare professionals, educators, policy makers, and community leaders. Together, we’ll explore how expanding school-based health centers in Minnesota is opening doors to healthcare access, education equity, and community vitality.

Audience:

  • Communities seeking solutions for student wellness

  • Schools expanding preventive care for students

  • Leaders supporting new and emerging school-based health centers

  • School health professionals supporting pediatric wellness

  • Health organizations exploring sustainability and improving pediatric care

Agenda:

  • 7:45 AM Doors Open + Light Breakfast

  • 8:30 AM Welcome Celebration & Opening Remarks

  • 9:00 AM Keynote: Erin Walsh, co-founder of Spark & Stitch Institute and author of It’s Their World: Teens, Screens, and the Science of Adolescence

  • 10:10 AM Breakout Sessions, Round 1 (details coming soon)

  • 11:35 AM Breakout Sessions, Round 2 (details coming soon)

  • 1:00 PM Lunch & Networking

  • 2:10 PM Breakout Sessions, Round 3 (details coming soon)

  • 3:30 PM Networking Hour: explore tables, learn from poster presentations, work together

  • 4:00 PM Lynn Bretl and youth panel present: YouthCHAT: A youth-led approach for improving communication between healthcare professionals and young people

  • 4:45 PM Closing remarks and raffle

 

What to Expect

🌀 A Pause in the Chaos. Take a breath. This summit offers a chance to reflect, reconnect with your purpose, and reset your direction with practical tools and visionary ideas.

🛠️ Interactive Learning Tracks. Improve care. Break-out sessions include tracks in physical health, mental health, sustainability, and innovation and policy.

🤝 Networking & Mentorship. Engage with leaders across sectors who are actively re-shaping Minnesota’s health systems.

🎤 Dynamic Keynote and Panels. Hear from change-makers, including students, youth advocates, and experts at the intersection of health, education, public health and policy.

 

Why This Matters Now

The Need Is Urgent:

  • Mental health concerns and unmet healthcare needs are rising among children and youth

  • Many families face overwhelming barriers to timely, affordable care

  • Schools can’t do it alone: school-based health centers are community partnerships

  • Access to preventive care is decreasing, even for our youngest Minnesotans

 

MNSBHA: Who We Are

We are Minnesota’s leading resource for building and improving school-based health centers (SBHCs). We help communities:

  • Identify gaps in healthcare access that impede school success

  • Fill gaps in pediatric preventive and acute care where kids spend time, in school

  • Build sustainable health systems through community partnerships

Since 2022, we’ve grown our statewide SBHC network by 60% — partnering with government agencies, health systems, and local leaders to reach 100% of emerging and established clinics in Minnesota.

 

Ready to Open More Doors?

This is more than an event. It’s a movement to transform how we care for our children and youth. Whether you're a policymaker, practitioner, or passionate advocate — your voice matters here.

Questions? Email: info@studenthealthmn.org