Health care for middle school and high school students in the Three Rivers school district will soon get a boost through a Community Adolescent Health Center (CAHC).
The CAHC is a grant-funded, school-linked health clinic slated to begin operation October 1st as a division of the PAWS (Prevention and Wellness Services) program in a collaborative effort involving Three Rivers Health and the Three Rivers Community Schools.
Patty Kane
?
The Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education voted unanimously Monday evening (September ?12th) to approve implementation of the program.? The move came in response to a presentation by two representatives of Three Rivers Health? Patty Kane, Nurse Practitioner, and Curtis Buchheit, M.D.? It followed action by the Three Rivers Health Authority Board on August 25th to endorse the program.
In her remarks to the board, Kane explained that Three Rivers Health received notification in May that its application for federal funds for the CAHC had been approved in the amount of $235,000 annually for five years.? She also indicated that the hospital will provide $67,000 to $70,000 of ?in-kind? support for the program.
A chart summarizing the CAHC indicates that it will provide primary care services focused on adolescent health, plus Evidence-Based Educational Programs and Clinical Interventions to two focus areas:
- ATOD (Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs)
- Obesity Prevention through Nutrition and Physical Activity.
Kane described the CAHC as ?an addition to the PAWS program,? which is housed in the Family Care Clinic at 721 Sixth Avenue, across from Three Rivers High School.? She said, ?Basically, what this grant entails ? we will provide through the efforts of the school and Three Rivers Family Care ? to provide to 500 unduplicated adolescent students a well care visit whether they?re affordable to pay or not.? ???And she noted that, ?This is a full, year-round project.?? (Patty Kane audio clip -? 1: 22)
Curtis Buchheit, M.D.
In his comments, Dr. Buchheit said the grant is for young people between the ages of 10 and 21 and said, ?It does not matter what is I their billfold or their parents billfold. ?If there is an insurance plan that parents consent to have used, that?s fine.?? Regarding the adolescents targeted by the program, Buchheit said, ?We wish to provide them as much total care as we possibly can.?
In anticipation of another question about the services of the CAHC, Buchheit said, ?This is not the birth control clinic.? This is not the free condom clinic.? We will be doing neither of those two things.?
In commenting on the new program, Board President Susan Schmidtendorff said, ?It sounds absolutely wonderful.?
For additional insights on the CAHC by hearing the opening remarks by Patty Kane and Dr. Curtis Bucheit, click here (7:14 ? 6.62 MB).
nags head nc philadelphia weather jon jones chael sonnen chael sonnen new jersey map tornado
No comments:
Post a Comment