Issues still being sorted for teen health center in Valley
October 8, 2008
By Laura Geggel
The opening of a teen health center in the Valley may be one to two months away, as administrators are still hammering out the particulars.
Once complete, the center will be housed at the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital medical clinic in North Bend.
The pilot program will provide confidential, age-appropriate health and counseling services one night or afternoon a week, said Debby Peterman, the contracted teen health center coordinator for Snoqualmie Valley Community Network.
Some of the organizations involved — the Snoqualmie Valley Community Network, the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital and Friends of Youth — are holding meetings to determine the following logistics:
• Research funding sources that could provide for both services not covered by insurance and children without insurance. Funding would also pay for medical supplies and staff salaries.
• Day(s) of operation and hours.
• How the referral process would work and if physicians and counselors would hold both scheduled and drop-in appointments.
• What type of information to include on wallet-sized cards they could distribute to students.
Peterman said the center could get partial funding from the Department of Health. The Snoqualmie Valley Community Network initially started investigating the need for a teen health center after it received a $20,000 planning grant from the DOH in March for a school-based health center. Because the center will not be school-based, it is not eligible to apply for the entire $75,000 DOH grant.
The center’s coalition plans to meet with Snoqualmie Valley high-school students and staff before finalizing any logistics, Peterman said. One issue has already arisen: Friday would be a better day for Mount Si students because they have early release, but it would be inconvenient for Two Rivers School students, who do not have school on Friday.
Snoqualmie Valley Hospital Clinic Operation Administrator Kris Haight may have found a way around this problem.
“We are considering afternoon hours and considering whether we could do it two days (a week),” she said. “We’re just really excited about this service. We have a couple of staff who have worked in other teen health clinics.”
Once the center is up and running, Peterman said the coalition plans to educate school staff and the Mount Si Natural Helpers how to refer students to the center.
“(The Natural Helpers) are the kids in school that other kids go to when they have problems,” Peterman said. “We want them to be aware of our services.”
Betsy Gudz, substance abuse treatment coordinator at Friends of Youth, is alerting Two Rivers School students about the health center, as well.
“I’ve already sent a couple of kids over there,” Gudz said. “They said the kids could come in if they needed services before the opening.”
At first, the clinic proved controversial when the coalition planned to house the clinic in Twin Falls Middle School. A Washington state law, stating that minors 13-years or older can receive outpatient mental health treatment without the consent of a parent or guardian, caused some parents alarm.
Yet, Peterman emphasized counselors would encourage minors to inform their parents.
With the center’s target audience of high school students, both the school district and the business community are stepping up to support the pilot program.
Snoqualmie Valley School District Public Information Coordinator Carolyn Malcolm said the district supported the center.
“In general, having more services for youth in our Valley is a good thing, especially for students who don’t have health insurance,” Malcolm said.
Peterman said business leaders and community members had contacted her with positive messages.
“They’re saying ‘Yes, we support this,’” Peterman said. “The whole community is coming together around this.”
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