Who visits the Teen Health Van?
Ammerman: We provide a medical home for adolescents who often have no other access to care. We perform more than 900 examinations each year, and our return visit rate is more than 60 percent, which is remarkably high for these youth. We see twice as many girls as boys. Many of our patients with serious illnesses such as diabetes or seizure disorders are not getting appropriate treatment or are not taking their medications. In some cases we see kids who’ve never had any immunizations past childhood. They also often have behavioral and mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and even sometimes psychosis. We frequently see teens with substance abuse problems or who are engaging in risky sexual behaviors. Often one patient has multiple problems, which makes treatment more complicated. 2. Do you think you’re actually getting through to these kids? Ammerman: Yes. For example, three years ago we began treating a 16-year-old girl who had dropped out of school and been living on the
