Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 17, 1993 TAG: 9303170288
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CAROLYN CLICK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CARILION AWARDS GRANT TO BEEF UP TEEN-HEALTH WORK
Carilion Health System on Tuesday made good its pledge to improve the well-being of Roanoke teen-agers, awarding a $400,000 grant to the Roanoke Adolescent Health Partnership it formed a year ago.The money will pay for additional staffing at the Teen Health Center in the city Health Department's Hurt Park Clinic and establishment of two school health centers, at William Ruffner Middle School and Patrick Henry High School, said Carilion President Tom Robertson.
The Teen Health Center, established in 1991, now is open one afternoon a week, said Dr. Don Stern, director of the Roanoke Health Department. The additional funds means the center can be open up to four days a week, including nights and Saturdays.
The new school-health centers, set to open this fall, will be the city's first effort to bring comprehensive care to students. The students will bear no cost for the services, but must have written permission of their parents.
Melinda Simpson, a former Health Department nurse, will coordinate the programs, which will be funded by the Carilion grant for three years.
"If you think about it, we are in a school system in which 51 percent of the students come from disadvantaged homes," said Stern. "Where is their access to basic health care?"
The partnership was formed in 1992 in response to disturbing statistics about teen health, both locally and nationwide. Violence and injury is on the rise among teens, as are incidences of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
The partnership, which includes Carilion, Roanoke Public Schools, the Roanoke Health Department and the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority, found that 23 percent of Roanoke's youngsters between the ages of 5 and 18 live in poverty. Half of the youngsters who visited Roanoke Memorial Hospital's emergency room in 1991 were uninsured.
"The physical and mental health of Roanoke's 11,000 adolescents is in a state of neglect," said Stern. "The important thing is, this is a comprehensive health services programs. We recognize that all these problems are interrelated."
Robertson said the $400,000 will come from the system's Roanoke Memorial Hospitals and Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley, both nonprofit facilities.
"We believe our investment will pay off in developing healthy, productive members of society who will make our community a better place to live," he said.