Teen Health Week: Legacy Comes to You

Legacy clinics are co-located in 21 schools in the Houston region, serving hundreds of students across multiple service lines – and now online.

By Barrett White

 

Since 2012, parents of students enrolled in one of the 21 Houston-area KIPP and YES Prep schools with Legacy clinics in them have not had to worry about taking time off work to see their children to the doctor’s office – and with the current stay-at-home orders, Legacy can come to you in the comfort of your own home via telehealth.

Each of the 21 Legacy school-based clinics offers behavioral health care, pediatric care, immunizations, sports physicals – anything you would attend a standard clinic for. Throughout the students’ enrollment, they are taught to be health literate, understanding their charts and how health care works, preparing them for navigating health care in adulthood. As they approach graduation and begin looking into life after high school, Legacy staff provides them a “Senior Check-Out,” during which they are connected to care in the world outside of their school. If a student is planning to attend college in another city for example, the Legacy providers ensure they are aware of what resources their college campus has available to them and which clinics are in the vicinity of their new school.

By putting health care providers in schools, students spend more time in class, parents miss fewer hours at work, and health conditions are less likely to go untreated. The existence of such clinics takes a tremendous weight off of parents, students, and employers – and lays the foundation for more positive health outcomes.

During the current Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, school-aged pediatric patients still don’t have to miss appointments due to social distancing. Much like how Legacy was located in the student’s school to serve them without interrupting mom and dad’s workday, Legacy’s pediatric telehealth program comes to the student via computer, smartphone, or tablet – click through to see how to book a telehealth appointment.

And don’t worry, when the pandemic is past us, we will be right there with you back in school.

For more information on Legacy’s Teen Week and the upcoming Adulting program, check out the Adulting landing page.

For more information on Legacy’s response to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, please visit our COVID-19 landing page.