TAMPA, Fla. — The Ybor Youth Clinic, a program of the University of South Florida's Morsani College of Medicine Dept. of Pediatrics, recently became the first in Florida to earn certification as a silver adolescent-centered health center through the Adolescent-Centered Environment Assessment Process.

The ACE-AP was developed by the University of Michigan Medicine program's Adolescent Health Initiative. Infectious disease physician Dr. Lisa Sanders with USF Health said the idea to undergo the assessment was brought to them by the Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County, which the clinic began partnering with in 2019. She said the process took several months.

"We sort of looked at ourselves, had patients fill out surveys, had our providers fill out surveys, see what areas we thought we could improve on," said Sanders. "Although we pride ourselves on being adolescent-friendly, it's always good to take a little time and look very critically at things, and we found some things that we could improve."

Sanders said she's proud of the silver certification, noting the reason the clinic didn't receive gold is because it doesn't offer childhood vaccinations. She said that's something that wouldn't necessarily make sense for the clinic, which serves patients ages 13-24.

Established ten years ago, YYC aims to help at-risk groups including young people who don't have the support of their families, LGBTQ youth and minority patients at high risk for infections like HIV, STIs or hepatitis. USF student Chandler Rumbaugh, 21, said he first turned to the clinic two or three years ago for routine HIV and STI testing, as well as to learn more about PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PrEP is highly effective at preventing HIV infections when taken correctly. 

"At the time, I didn't have insurance, so I needed a place that I could go and get looked at and just get a check-up that didn't require insurance," Rumbaugh said. 

According to the progressive, independent think-tank The Century Foundation, lack of insurance is actually an issue that seems to be declining among college-aged people. According to its report The ACA's Impact on College Students, its analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey found coverage of U.S. college students increased by ten percentage points between 2010, the year the Affordable Care Act was passed, and 2020. The ACA included a provision that allowed young adults to stay on their parents' insurance plan until they turned 26. Rumbaugh said he and his siblings lost coverage when his father lost his job.

"I know for a lot of students, it's the same," Rumbaugh said. "Even though we're allowed to be on insurance until we're 26, some parents don't have insurance from jobs and where they work. Besides that, sometimes health insurance can be expensive for a good plan."

YYC offers STI and HIV testing for free, no insurance required. Free or low-cost appointments are also available for services including HIV and STI treatment, birth control and emergency contraception, and prevention services and counseling. The clinic saw nearly 1,800 patient visits in 2020. Of those, 66% were without other health care, thousands of tests were performed for STIs, 130 visits were for PrEP services and 199 visits were for contraception. 

Whatever the initial reason for their visit, patients can also opt into support to navigate community resources. Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County Adolescent Health Resource Coordinator Danielle Lewald said counseling, food assistance, housing assistance and health insurance are among the top needs seen by the clinic.

"We partner with over 24 community agencies formally. We set up memorandums of understanding with them, and that allows us to have main points of contact with each agency. So, if a youth were to experience a barrier in getting connected with that service, we have somebody that we can call and make sure they're getting through and connected," said Lewald.

Lewald said the Teen Connect Tampa Bay web site can connect young people to resources any time.

Rumbaugh said the clinic is a service he'd recommend to anyone in need. 

"It feels like a second home. Everybody there is genuinely so happy, so nice, so patient, so understanding," said Rumbaugh. "I'd tell anybody, 'If you need to go, go. They will take care of you. They want to help you.'"