October 18, 2013
Drug use, depression, unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, suicide — these and more begin to seep into a child’s life around adolescence. And yet that’s when doctors and nurses are seeing young people far less frequently.
Parents no longer are bringing their kids in for child wellness visits or the slightest flu, immunization requirements have been fulfilled and teens themselves are beginning to feel invincible.
That’s the health-care gap the Petaluma Health Center is trying to bridge with the opening of its first high school-based health center. The clinic, which opened earlier this month at San Antonio High School, is one of two school-based clinics the health center plans to open over the next year. The second will be at Casa Grande High School.
In other parts of the country, school clinics are part of a growing trend to bring such things as primary health care, confidential family planning services and mental health services directly to students. Until now, the only high school-based health center has been the Elsie Allen Health Center in west Santa Rosa. Read Full Article Here
