The M-A parking lot is home to many different cars, but sometimes an unusually large blue bus stands out. This blue bus is actually Stanford Medicine’s Children’s Health Teen Van, a mobile clinic offering free medical services for youth across the Bay Area.
The van was created 29 years ago as a way to provide healthcare to homeless youth. “The idea was that you have this mobile clinic where you go to young people instead of having them come to you,” Dr. Arash Anoshiravani, the medical practitioner at the Teen Van, said.
Since then, the Teen Van has expanded to provide care for not just unhoused teenagers but also those who lack sufficient resources for health care. “The locations we have partnered with over the last 29 years are places where there’s a high proportion of the youth population who aren’t getting their health needs met for any reason. It’s not all about homelessness. It’s about young people getting access to the care they need,” Anoshiravani said.
The van provides a wide range of services, including reproductive care, mental health resources, vaccines, and sports physicals. “We try to provide the kind of care that has to do with the whole person,” Anoshiravani added.
This mobile clinic has been a beneficial addition for M-A students. “It allows students who are underinsured to have access to care in a time frame that they know,” Administrative Vice Principal Elaine Rios said. The clinic first developed a consistent schedule at M-A last year and is now visiting the school on the first Tuesday of every month from October to May.
The Teen Van is fully staffed with a medical practitioner, a nurse practitioner, a social worker, a nutritionist, medical assistants, and a driver. “We have a cool team and everybody who works here wants to be here and work with young people,” Anoshiravani said.
Recently, the Teen Van has added another small van to the program. This van, dubbed the Mini Teen Van by staff, supports the main RV with supplies and allows the team to be in two places at once. It is also fully electric, an aspect the main van is hoping to add as well.
“We’ve already started expansion, but we’d love to be able to do it in a sustainable way,” Anoshiravani said.
Amongst this change, the van’s mission remains the same. “We are here for all young people and would love to see people who feel like they are not getting the care that they need,” Anoshiravani said.
To book an appointment with the Teen Van, fill out this form.
