Ybor Youth Clinic, a facility specifically designed for adolescents and young adults, recently expanded the healthcare services it offers Tampa Bay area adolescents and young adults to include confidential family planning. The clinic is sponsored by USF Health and Lazydays Employee Foundation.
In partnership with the Hillsborough County Department of Health, USF Health clinicians have started offering confidential and comprehensive family planning services to patients ages 13 to 24, regardless of their ability to pay. Services include gynecological visits, testing and treatment for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy testing and birth control. The clinic’s comprehensive care includes coordinating referrals to other healthcare organizations or professionals throughout the community.
The youth clinic opened last year in the heart of Ybor City to provide a welcoming environment for all youth, including the historically marginalized, such as those who are homeless; gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender; and HIV-infected. USF faculty members from the Department of Pediatrics Infectious Diseases and Adolescent Medicine Division and other clinic practitioners provide care to these youth who often would not otherwise receive care.
USF Health pediatric nurse practitioner Terri Berger, MSN, ARNP, CPNP, examines a patient at the Ybor Youth Clinic.
One young man visited the clinic recently for treatment of a sexually transmitted disease, and Ybor Youth Clinic Medical Director Dr. Diane Straub detected the patient’s high blood pressure during a medical history and examination. He was educated about the symptoms and complications of untreated hypertension and referred to primary care through the Hillsborough County Health Care Plan.
“We serve as an entry point to the healthcare system for many of the older adolescents and young adults with little or no support,” said Dr. Straub, chief of adolescent medicine at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “It may be sexual health issues that bring them here — concern about STDs or the need for contraceptives. But once we get them in the door, we can address preventive care and conditions, like hypertension, which could develop into severe health problems without treatment. We help them find a primary care home.”
Confidential services offered by the clinic in collaboration with the health department encompass the following:
– Women’s health, including gynecological exams, pap smears, and other testing as needed
– Men’s health
– Birth control
– Emergency contraception (“morning after pill”)
– Sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, treatment, and prevention counseling
– HIV testing, risk reduction counseling, treatment and referrals
– Pregnancy testing, options counseling, and referrals
– Health education
– Connections and referrals to community programs, including DACCO, Camelot Community Care’s Homeless Youth Program, and the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay
The Ybor Youth Clinic is located at 1315 E. 7th Ave., Suite 104, Tampa, FL 33605. For more information, please call (813) 396-9021, or visit the website:
http://yboryouthclinic.health.usf.edu
Photo by Caroline Murphy, USF Health Department of Pediatrics
