Public Health Magazine: Winter 1995, Vol.5, No.1
One-stop health care--it may be catching

Back in New York City, in the bustling Young Adult Clinic, young women chat about their boyfriends, the cost of pills, and being faithful about checkups. "A lot of people I know come here. It's important to stick with it,' said an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a client for five years. But the boyfriend should come to his clinic too. You never know what he's been doing."

Several thousand young women and hundreds of young men use the counseling, reproductive health services, and family planning activities at the Young Adult Clinic, the General Family Planning Clinic and at five school-based clinics in Washington Heights junior and senior high schools. These clinics are operated by CSPH's Center for Population and Family Health in conjunction with the Ambulatory Care Network Corporation of Presbyterian Hospital. In March, the Family Planning and Reproductive Health Center moved to a newly renovated, 7,000-square-foot facility, made possible by the Buffett Foundation and the Robert Heilbrunn family.

Surveys indicate that the clinics are the sole health care providers for up to 98 percent of the clients. Lorraine Tiezzi, director of the Center's community health and education programs, explains, Clinics can serve as a point of entry. Once in, we can explore and identify other problems and issues.