Mazzoni Center’s one-stop-shop medical-services program for young people is celebrating its five-year anniversary.
The youth drop-in program offers free medical care for individuals age 14-24, with no appointment or insurance required. Services include HIV testing and counseling, risk-reduction tips, health education and information on safe-school programs.
Drop-in case manager Bevin Gwiazdowski has worked for the program for four years and witnessed its capacity increase significantly.
“I started working at Mazzoni about a year after [the program] started. We actually have increased the number of providers who are able to see patients from two to four, who are able to see about six youth each,” Gwiazdowski said. “Capacity is the big thing. Four people doesn’t sound like a big difference, but it is huge.”
The number of youth each week varies.
“Because youth are able to come in for a variety of reasons — a medical appointment or to see a case manager — we have a mix of folks. We can see upwards of 30 youth a night,” Gwiazdowski said.
The program’s goal is to get youth to start thinking about primary care as something they need to do as part of staying healthy, said Gwiazdowski.
“We want to get them integrated into our ‘regular practice’ but we have youth who, for whatever reason, have a hard time keeping appointments during regular hours. So the drop-in works.”
The drop-in offers food, SEPTA tokens, hygiene kits, assistance with benefit applications and housing, mental-health, education and vocation referrals.
Looking ahead, the focus remains on increasing capacity and expanding waiting-room programming.
“We are hoping to continue to increase our numbers and potentially expand some of the programmatic offerings during the drop-in hours,” Gwiazdowski said. “We are partnering with other organizations for more waiting-room programs, where we can engage the youth while they wait for their appointments. They could be in the waiting room from five-20 minutes, so we want to make the most out of that one-on-one time.”
Drop-in hours are 5-7 p.m. Wednesdays at 809 Locust St. For more information on the youth drop-in and its services, contact Gwiazdowski at 215-563-0658, ext. 321 or at [email protected].