KING COUNTY, WA - Today, Public Health-Seattle & King County, Swedish Medical Center and Seattle Public Schools celebrated the opening of the Ballard Teen Health Center, which joins a nationally recognized network of 12 school-based and two school-linked health centers in Seattle and King County.
"This health center for adolescents has been made possible by an effective partnership involving communities, local schools and health providers," said Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. "Most importantly, youth are receiving accessible and high-quality health services."
Public Health's Youth Health Services, funded in part by the Families and Education Levy, collaborates with local health care providers and public schools to coordinate these primary care centers that provide medical and mental health screening and treatment, as well as preventive services.
"In the past, adolescents have been the group least likely to seek medical care, but we are addressing this issue by providing appropriate and teen-focused health services," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County.
"Student health has a direct impact on academic achievement," said Seattle Schools Superintendent Joseph Olchefske. "Through partnerships like this one, we can provide the support and resources necessary to improve the health of our children and remove the barriers to learning, ensuring that every student will meet the high academic standards we have set for them."
The teen health centers are consistently praised by students, parents, and school staff as positive places for students to receive comprehensive health, mental health and preventive services.
- 90% of student users report that being able to get health care at school helped them to be more attentive in class.
- These centers enrolled over 9,500 adolescents in Seattle and King County during the 2000-2001 school year.
- 35% of students at eight Seattle Public High Schools (Cleveland, Franklin, Garfield, Nathan Hale, Rainier Beach, Roosevelt, Sealth and West Seattle) were health center users during the 2000-2001 school year.
Ballard Teen Health Center
Swedish Medical Center will manage and provide services at the Ballard Teen Health Center, and the center will benefit from Swedish's long-standing community presence in Ballard.
"Swedish has been meeting the health-care needs of our neighbors for more than 90 years," said Lane Savitch, chief operating officer of Swedish Medical Center/Ballard Campus. "We're really excited about the opportunity to extend our role by providing consistent, high-quality, school-based health services to the youth of this community."
In coordination with the Seattle Public School Nurse, the Ballard Teen Health Center will provide a variety of services, including:
- health maintenance services, like sport and routine physicals as well as immunizations
- mental health services, such as support for depression and peer issues
- illness related services, like asthma treatment and reproductive health concerns
The center will be staffed by a nurse practitioner, a mental health counselor, a health educator, and an administrative assistant.
The mix of services delivered at Ballard, and at each site, is tailored to the unique needs of the particular school community. Additional services are provided based on the needs of the health center users and the available resources of the sponsoring agency. Many health centers also provide:
- support for issues such as tobacco cessation and self-esteem
- health education in the classroom
- health fairs to promote healthy attitudes and behaviors
- nutrition education and cooking demonstrations
- coordination between parents, school staff, students and other health care providers
The centers target adolescents who are uninsured and underinsured and those who have no where else to go to get medical care and counseling. They also serve young people who have insurance but who want confidential care and advice. Ballard students and families who are interested in these high-quality and confidential services should contact the Ballard Teen Health Center for enrollment.
For more information on school health centers, please visit:
Providing effective and innovative health and disease prevention services for over 1.8 million residents and visitors of King County, Public Health – Seattle & King County works for safer and healthier communities for everyone, every day. |
