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Jonathan Mesinger is manager of the county-run Teen Wellness Center, which will move later this year.
REDWOOD CITY (Map, News) - The county-run Teen Wellness Center, a free clinic which treats roughly 2,200 students each year, has been rescued by the school district’s board of trustees and will receive a new home later this year.
The Sequoia High School District’s board of trustees on Wednesday pledged up to $1.3 million to build a new, permanent site for the center, which has been housed in a large portable building on the Sequoia High School campus.
The center faced closure following a state order to move the facilities from its temporary location. For the last four years, the clinic has served anyone age 12 to 21 — many of whom might not otherwise see doctors when they’re sick or need advice, Clinic Manager Jonathan Mesinger said.
“[The clinic] makes such a tremendous difference in the educational abilities of students” by keeping them in good health and providing support, said trustee Olivia Martinez. “The faculty and staff at Sequoia were adamant about the need for this, and we can surmise that’s the case at all the high schools.”
Run by the San Mateo County Medical Center, the $800,000 per year clinic is fully staffed with a doctor, three part-time nurse practitioners, one nurse and a handful of support staff. The clinic offers a number of services, from sports physicals to birth control, pregnancy tests and substance-abuse treatment, Mesinger said.
All services are free, and many, including reproductive health and mental health, are kept confidential from parents. According to surveys conducted by the county, students have raved about the clinic.
“[The center has] helpful, compassionate staff and a clean environment,” one student wrote. “I feel safe here and supported.”
Without the center, some teens might go to Planned Parenthood sites, which do not offer comprehensive health care, Mesinger said.
“In general, teens don’t seek medical care unless they have a crisis,” he said.
Only one other school district in the county, the Jefferson High School District, offers a full-service health clinic for students, Mesinger said.
The center’s permanent home will be built during the summer months, and should be completed by August, Martinez said. It will remain on the Sequoia campus. Funds for construction will come from existing facilities bonds.
Trustees hoped the medical center would chip in, but the center faces a $5 million deficit this year, spokesman Dave Hook said. However, the county will seek grant money to help reimburse the district.
Comments from Examiner Readers
4:32 PM MST on Tue., Sep. 9, 2008 re: "Muscle dysmorphia: The intense fear of being skinny"
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4:32 PM MST on Tue., Sep. 9, 2008
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Examiner Reader said:
I wil add to my last comment. I was so self conscious about being skinny in high school. I was 6' 2' 140lbs. However, if my parents were not alcoholics, I probably would have seen the positives of being skinny instead of the negatives.
4 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I wil add to my last comment. I was so self conscious about being skinny in high school. I was 6' 2' 140lbs. However, if my parents were not alcoholics, I probably would have seen the positives of being skinny instead of the negatives.
4 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I am a 52 year old men who is 6' 2' and weight fluctuates between 170lbs and 180 lbs. I was made fun of by me two brothers for being tall and skinny as well as my father who is also tall and skinny and was teased by his parents for being tall and skinny. My parents are alcholics and I got clean and sober 22 years ago and have learned to love myself. I now enjoy being tall and skinny instead of hating it. Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.
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Examiner Reader said:
i can relate this article in our hospital her in the philippines. especially in the main e.r. patient came in and out inh the e.r and i observe some of the staff are not attending the patients; and the e.r doctors are not in the duty or they are not in the e.r room. also i noticed that our e.r is lack of instrumnet being used to the patient. may the problem is in our goverment not in the hospital... thanks for the insight author.
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Examiner Reader said:
""Several members of the board, left, right and center, think this has been poorly thought out,” Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin told The Examiner. “Fisherman’s Wharf is the goose that lays the golden egg for San Francisco. We don’t want to commit economic suicide.”" What an absolute crock... completely political on the part of this Supervisor and any other of them. Neighborhood groups continually contact their District Superviors about impact of street fairs and large events in and close to residential areas for years and we are told we are just "killing" the spirit of fun in The City. Well now is a chance to have fun when it doesn't impact neighborhoods. Just the same old political BS from Supervisors who continually enjoy conflict.
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Examiner Reader said:
Sometimes Mayor Newsom can be so clueless. Real life can be considerably different outside "Newsom-land" in the Mayor's head.
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Examiner Reader said:
In March, Izzy's got a 42 and spent quite a bit of money to follow code and improve. 3 months later they recieve negative press while pending inspection. Latest score--94. How about positive press instead of slamming local hard working firms.
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Examiner Reader said:
My 9-year-old son had open heart surgery and was on the heart/lung machine during his surgery,after which he experienced anxiety and depression and had thoughts of suicide. He took his own life at 17 years old. I wish I had known this risk of the heart surgery and specifically the risk of being on the heart/lung machine.
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Examiner Reader Hater said:
Did you even read the article?
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Examiner Reader said:
I think its incredibly important to know exactly what goes into our food so we can make an educated guess in deciding what goes into our bodies is the best thing for us in order to take better care of ourselves. Had we been informed of the risk of adding sugary and fattening fried food into our diet, we would have never allow these filthy thing to touch our lips. Fried and sugary food should have been expensive, and NOT healthy, nutritious food for our consumption. Also once these bad, nutritionally poor food is consumed, it is unusually addictive and bad habits can be hard to break.
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