Meeting the health care needs of youth in a disadvantaged community poses many challenges: youth can be reluctant to seek care; their needs are often complex; and trust is hard to establish.

At Southwestern High, however, Henry Ford Health System operates a clinic that overcomes these challenges and provides quality and holistic care to 600 youth a year.

Southwest Solutions is a partner in the clinic, providing counseling to address the psychological and emotional needs of students.

This school-based, integrated heath care model produces many positive effects, research shows. Students are healthier. School attendance and academic performance improve. Teen pregnancy and incidents of violence decrease.

“A healthier student is a better student overall,” says Mary Serowoky, nurse practitioner at the clinic. “Our role is teach students to be good healthcare consumers, so that they become responsible for their own physical and psychological wellbeing.”

The clinic serves not only students at the high school in southwest Detroit. It serves youth 10 to 21 years old from the surrounding community. The clinic offers dental and vision services, in addition to medical and behavioral healthcare and health education. Medicaid pays for the services for most of the youth who come to the clinic. The clinic also serves the uninsured.

Cheryl Elum is the parent liaison for the clinic, helping to inform students, other parents and the community of the services provided by the clinic.

“The clinic is having an incredible impact,” Cheryl says. “For many kids, this clinic is their primary care, and the medical professionals here are the only ones they will see. The kids have a rapport with the clinic built on trust.”

Convenience, an inviting culture and confidentiality figure into the clinic’s success. Minors over 14 years old can lawfully seek medical care without parental consent, with a few exceptions. Among students at Southwestern, the clinic is well respected, and students recommend its services to each other.

Margaret Jabboori, a counselor with Southwest Solutions, is currently working with 16 youth. She is treating them for a variety of issues, including post traumatic stress, suicidal ideation and behavior, and parental abandonment. Margaret also helps run an anger management group at the school.

“This is very challenging work, but also worthwhile,” Margaret says. “My office is a safe haven where students come to vent or retreat. The students have been willing to get help and to learn.”

The clinic has a case manager, Natalie Clarke, who helps students and families with insurance and payment issues. Natalie also advises families about personal finances and connects them to needed supports and available resources in the community.

By attending to a broad range of needs, the clinic increases the likelihood that students can be successful in school.

“For too many students, academics is low on their list of concerns because of other pressing problems in their lives," Natalie says. “We need to help them solve these problems so they can focus on their education. I think that a clinic such as ours can be a model and saving grace for the Detroit school system.”

Nywanna McCowan is a Southwestern student who would have left school if not for the clinic, she says. She is 16 years old and has suffered repeated trauma and displacement. Nywanna receives a full range of services at the clinic: medical, dental, vision, psychological counseling, and case management. At times, she has relied on the clinic to wash her clothes and provide a meal.

"This is my second home," Nywanna says. "Because they care so much, I have learned to love myself again, set goals for my life, and get over the trauma."

For the first semester of this school year, Nywanna had a B average. She received an A in both math and science, which are her favorite subjects.

This semester, Nywanna's grades have dropped because she had to move to Ecorse to live with her grandmother, and she lacks bus fare some days to get to school. The clinic is working with Nywanna's family to address this issue.

"I don't want to fall behind anymore than I have already," Nywanna says. "I still hope to go to college one day."

To learn more about the clinic, call 313.843.1398.