Health clinic goes on the road to help underserved youth

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The Teen Health Van has a comprehensive team that can provide virtually any kind of care. Photo by KALW.

By Jordan Katz, KALW

What’s the quickest way to a child’s heart? How about a Harry Potter movie? The staff at the Bay Area’s Teen Health Van know their patients are no exception.

Katie Baker, the van’s newest physician’s assistant, says showing movies makes the patients feel “more comfortable” when waiting for treatment. The mobile clinic’s waiting room is the size of a cubicle. The movie drowns out any sounds coming from nearby exam rooms, helping preserve patient privacy. Patients range in age from 10 to 25 years old. Half are homeless. Most lack health insurance.

“The kids that we see typically have not had regular health care,” says Dr. Seth Ammerman, a practicing pediatrician and medical director of the Teen Health Van. Ammerman says most of the patients have had sporadic physical examinations, if at all. “What we do is provide comprehensive medical care,” Ammerman says.

Read the complete story at KALW. 

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