Mobile Adolescent Health Services Program - Teen Van
Stanford Children’s Health provides expert care for our community’s high-risk kids and young adults ages 10 to 25. The multidisciplinary staff of the Mobile Adolescent Health Services program, one of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford’s Community Partnership programs, provides custom-designed care for those who rely exclusively on the Teen Van as their only link to a network of services and knowledge they urgently need.
Program staff includes a physician specializing in adolescent medicine, a nurse practitioner, a social worker, a dietitian and a registrar/driver.
The team provides:
- Comprehensive treatment, including immunizations
- Complete physical exams
- Acute illness and injury care
- Pregnancy tests
- Pelvic exams
- Sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment
- Family planning
- HIV counseling and testing
- Health education
- Social services assessment and assistance
- Referrals to community partners and agencies
- Substance abuse counseling and referral
- Mental health counseling and referral
- Risk behavior reduction counseling
- Nutrition counseling
All services and medications are provided at no charge to the patients. View the teen van schedule.
Program partners are the high schools and shelters whose employees refer teens to the program, provide space for clinic activities and work collaboratively with the Teen Van team to assure a safety net of health care, social services and educational programs for the youth.
During its scheduled visits to these schools and shelters in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties, the Teen Van brings much more than medical care to underserved teens. For many who receive care, the Teen Van provides one of the few reliable and positive supports in their lives, offering much-needed inspiration and relationships.
Social workers provide group classes on topics such as violence and dating, anxiety and relaxation, communication in relationships, eating disorders, body image and drug and alcohol education.
Since 1996, there have been more than 15,000 visits with more than 4,500 unique patients served. The Teen Van is clearly making a difference within the underserved youth population as the return visit rate is more than 70% with the Teen Van staff seeing approximately 60% young women and 40% young men.