Telehealth for Teens
The newly renovated air-conditioned Teen Suite at the KVIBE warehouse is meant to feel safe and private. Photo by Cherish Mendaros.
KKV’s Family Planning team has big plans this spring, focusing on a new project to open a telehealth site for teens at the KVIBE warehouse. The new site recognizes that the clinic can be very intimidating for young people, especially when they are already anxious about reproductive health. The new telehealth room, tentatively called the “Teen Suite,” is a comfortable upstairs space in KKV’s KVIBE teen center. The room includes an iPad set up for telehealth where youth can "dial up" a member of the Family Planning staff. They will be able to quickly enroll as a patient and/or simply ask questions. “We want this to be a special place,” says Dolly Tatofi, KKV’s Maternal Child Health Director, “No one should feel violated or unsafe for expressing their needs.”
This is a new care model for KKV, and when it opens later this spring, the Maternal Child Health Family Planning team will be able to better understand the benefits of taking clinical care out into the community. Mahalo to Essential Access for supporting KKV to pilot this new teen space.
Inspirational art and educational health pamphlets provide a welcoming backdrop to the Teen Suite. Photo by Cherish Mendaros.
