Brooklyn Park Clinic certified as a Silver-Level Adolescent Centered Environment
We are proud to announce that our Brooklyn Park Clinic was certified as a Silver-Level Adolescent Centered Environment by the Michigan Adolescent Health Initiative (AHI). This was an 18-month process that involved the collaboration of the clinic, the Between Us program and an AHI coach. The clinic went through the Adolescent -Centered Environment Assessment Process (ACE-AP) and then made changes to meet the certification requirements. Learn all about this accomplishment:
What is an adolescent-centered environment?
Adolescent-centered environments effectively provide comprehensive services for adolescents, ensuring that they feel well cared for. An adolescent-centered environment encompasses the policies, practices, services, and physical space of health centers. They are inclusive of, informed by, and responsive to the needs and values of adolescents.
What are the benefits of creating an adolescent-centered environment?
During adolescence, youth experience disproportionately high rates of mental health issues, substance use, sexually transmitted diseases, and unintentional injuries that can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Consequently, the health care needs of adolescents are unique from other patient populations. Young people may avoid accessing the services they need for various reasons including concerns around confidentiality, fear of judgment, and inconvenient hours and location. Creating adolescent-centered environments ensure that youth can access the care they need to be healthy throughout adolescence and into adulthood.
What is the Adolescent-Centered Environment Assessment Process (ACE-AP)?
In order to help health centers improve care delivery to adolescents, AHI developed the Adolescent-Centered Environment Assessment Process, also known as the ACE-AP. The ACE-AP is an 18-month, comprehensive self-assessment and guided improvement process that covers the 12 key areas of adolescent-centered care:
- Access to Care
- Adolescent Appropriate Environment
- Confidentiality
- Best Practices and Standards of Care
- Reproductive and Sexual Health Clinical Practices
- Behavioral Health Clinical Practices
- Nutritional Health Clinical Practices
- Cultural Responsiveness
- Respectful Treatment
- Adolescent Involvement and Empowerment
- Parent & Caregiver Engagement
- Community Engagement and Outreach
The ACE-AP is informed by major medical associations and academic entities such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Center for Disease Control, Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, and AHI’s Adolescent Champion Teen Advisory Council.
What are some results of the ACE-AP?
Health centers who participate in the ACE-AP:
- Increased their capacity to provide confidential services to youth
- Widened their scope of reproductive health services specific to adolescent best practices
- Saw close to a 40% increase in their ability to provide adolescent centered behavioral health services
- Received an increase in positive feedback from adolescents on the improvement of the clinic space, provider knowledge of confidentiality, and asking about both physical and mental health
- Saw improvements in adolescent well visits, mental health and STI screenings, and immunization completion
What does it mean to be certified as an Adolescent-Centered Environment?
A certified Adolescent-Centered Environment health center has successfully completed the Adolescent-Centered Environment Assessment Process (ACE-AP) and exceeded within the twelve areas of adolescent-centered care. Sites can be certified as gold, silver, or bronze. Certification levels are determined by how the sites scored on the eleven certification requirements that are pulled from best practices in adolescent-centered care.
- Gold - achieved 11/11 requirements
- Silver - achieved 10/11 requirements
- Bronze - achieved 9/11 requirements
