Advocates say some young people end up alone trying to figure out how to continue from where their pediatric care left off, but many just end up without the medical attention they need.
The Phoenix nonprofit Affirm has opened enrollment for the sixth round of an 18-month program designed to change that by helping health centers create more teen-friendly environments.
Affirm’s program manager Celeste Krell–Colum said they’re looking forward to the next group of Arizona clinics to try out the Adolescent Champion Model, known as ACM. A lot of the resources, she said, are made by teens, for teens.
“But then we also provide materials, like consent and confidentiality,” added Krell-Colum. “So, what are the laws in Arizona? So that you know what your rights are and you know what kind of care and standards you should be receiving.”
Krell-Colum said that for young people, that sense of stability can be especially important to encourage them to return and take care of their health.
“It's going to be easier to have these youth and adolescents come in and ask the questions and feel comfortable to do so,” said Krell-Colum.
According to Krell-Colum, health centers that participate in the ACM program, which was designed at the University of Michigan, have already seen a huge difference with opening clinics up to questions, training staff for conversations about topics like consent, and offering resources in multiple languages.
“Altogether, we've seen significant improvements in adolescent well visits, their mental health screenings,” she said, “and also just health centers wanting to participate, which is amazing.”
Krell-Collum said roughly 26 clinics across the state have participated in the program so far, and applications are still open for more.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story and headline have been moidified to correct that Affirm's program is helping clinics across the state of Arizona.
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