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Hospital and city and state leadership announced that Partners is providing funding for the Teen Health Center at English High School.
Boston students last year made more than 800 visits to the English High School Teen Health Center, operated by BWH’s Brookside Community Health Center.
“Teens often find it difficult to seek help for sensitive problems such as depression, alcohol and substance abuse, family planning, dating violence and domestic violence,” said state Rep. Elizabeth A. Malia, House chair for the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. “School based health centers bring these services directly to teenagers when they need it in a safe environment where they spend most of their time – school.”
Malia joined legislators, city and state health care leaders and BWH and Partners leadership last week to announce that Partners HealthCare is providing $230,000 in funding for the Teen Health Center.
The Teen Health Center, which marks its 15th anniversary this year, was the first school-based health center licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Directed by Linda Malone, NP, the center has hosted flu clinics, health screenings and classes on exercise, dance, stress management, sexuality and other topics. Patients also receive assistance in applying for health insurance there.
“The types of behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disease in the United States are most often established during adolescence and extend to adulthood,” said BWH President Betsy Nabel, MD. “School-based health centers are the front lines of keeping our young people healthy.”
Paula McNichols, executive director of Brookside, and state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz
State Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez, Malia, state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz and Boston City Councilor at-Large Ayanna Pressley participated in a discussion with hospital leadership about the health of young people and the important role school-based health centers like the one at English High .
“School-based health centers are an essential entry point for teenagers who need routine health care, but who are unlikely to use traditional health care services,” said Sánchez. “As a result of funding from Partners HealthCare, students and their families at English High can take comfort in knowing that these critical primary care and mental health services will continue.”
Partners President and CEO Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA, said, “At Partners, we are keenly aware of the tremendous urgency to do whatever we can to keep our young people safe, on a path to good health and prepared for the future. School-based health centers are critical to our ability to do that.”