Rachel Wilson
The Teen Wellness Center (TWC) is a medical clinic providing any teen in Alexandria ages 12-17 with accessible health services.
TWC’s mission is to “ensure that each and every Alexandrian teen succeeds – physically, emotionally, socially, and academically – by collaboratively providing an easily accessible wellness center at T.C. Williams High School,” according to the Alexandria City Public School’s (ACPS) website.
Located in the College and Career Center at T.C., the clinic is open year-round and provides a variety of confidential and non-confidential services to teens.
Teen Wellness Center lobby.
Non-confidential treatments that need parent/guardian approval include HPV, Influenza (flu), and TDAP immunizations; treatment of minor illnesses; and physical examinations required for schools, participation in sports, employment and the Special Olympics.
Confidential treatments that do not need parents consent include pregnancy testing and prevention; diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs); reproductive health services (birth control); health education, like diet, exercise, and stress reduction techniques; behavior change counseling; and mental health and substance abuse counseling.
Virginia state law allows TWC to provide some services to minors without parental consent. If a teen asks for one of the confidential treatments, TWC is legally obligated to not share information regarding that service with a parent or guardian.
All services are free of charge. A billing health insurance plan has the possibility to notify the parent that a teen was provided with any form of service.
Immigration status is never checked or recorded. TWC will only ask if the teen lives in the City of Alexandria.
Family Nurse Practitioner Marylin Foster is the face behind all of these services. Foster has been working for TWC before it moved to the King Street Campus in 2012.
Foster said, “We are like an urgent care clinic, the first time you register we need your parents’ permission, but any time after you can come by yourself.”
The clinic is mainly used for its birth control options. Since TWC opened at the King Street campus, teen pregnancy rates decreased from 60 percent to 15 percent.
“Condifedentail treatments, like birth control, are very beneficial for teenagers,” Foster said. “We also know you should communicate with your parents, but you know your parents better than we do, so we leave that choice up to you.”
Although TWC provides a variety of services other than birth control, teens almost never utilize it for STI testing and treatment.
Foster said, “The most underrated part of TWC is our extensive information and treatment of STIs. We know teens deal with this a lot, and need to know that we can help.”
Along with a large variety of treatments and services, TWC offers programs for teens in Alexandria. TWC’s Teen Health Advisory Board is a program offered through TWC that focuses on health issues within the students’ own communities.
TWC is in the process of getting a full time health educator to answer students questions about these common issues, which would decrease their needs for treatment.
