PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — For the last year, Rhode Island health care providers, youth-serving community organizations, local high schools, and teen representatives have been working together to improve health care for adolescents, within the new primary care model of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH). On Monday June 1, 2015, at 3 p.m. they will present their work at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

“Within the PCMH movement, the health of adolescents is often overlooked, because they are often physically healthy, and many of their health needs are behavioral and challenging to address,” said Dr. Joanna Brown, clinical assistant professor of family medicine at Brown. “We need to invest in the health of youth, because it's the right thing to do now, and because they will then grow into healthier adults. In this project we've prioritized youth engagement, adolescent friendliness, and community collaborations as routes towards improving health care and access.”

After an artistic performance by AS220 youth, health care providers and other representatives of Planned Parenthood in Providence, Affinity Physicians in Pawtucket, East Bay Family Healthcare, Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, and Thundermist in Woonsocket will present their work.

Teens from some of these health care sites and from partnering community organizations who worked on the project will join the presentation to share their contributions and perspectives.

The presentations will detail progress on several priorities of the project, administered by Memorial Hospital and funded by the Rhode Island Foundation: youth engagement, community engagement, behavioral health, enhancing access and quality of care, and rigorous evaluation.

“We're really proud of what we've accomplished in the past year," Brown said.