Venice family clinic offers free medical services

  Affordable healthcare is an issue that affects the entire nation, including Samo students, and is detrimental to people of all backgrounds, races and ages. For that reason, the Venice Family Clinic offers free and confidential services for Los Angeles residents, and has created programs to benefit high schoolers. They have been working with Samo for over 15 years, but a large majority of Samo students are unaware of the clinic’s presence on campus.  The clinic is run by doctors and medical assistants who work with the Venice Family Clinic, which was founded in 1970 by Phillip Rossman, MD, and Mayer B. Davidson, MD, with the goal of making healthcare accessible to all. Due to private donations as well as anonymous and government grants, they are able to provide free or reduced-price healthcare. They now have 12 L.A. based clinics and another high school clinic at Culver City High School.   They provide a multitude of services, such as free and confidential reproductive health services which include STD testing and pregnancy testing. The clinic also provides female students with their preferred type of birth control from the Depo Provera shot to the traditional pill, all for free. With parental consent, the clinic is also able to provide sports physicals, sick visits, immunizations and even dental services. These services are available to any Samo student, and their patronship is appreciated by many, including Ava Petrille (’22).  “I think it’s an amazing resource for students. This program seems to help so many people and I’m happy that something like this is available to us,” Petrille said. The Venice Family Clinic is not the only health resource available to students. Aside from the clinic, other services offered on campus include mental health and substance use support, in which students can attend support groups as well as individual therapy sessions. Substance use treatments are mandatory for students who have on-campus drug infractions, but any student who struggles with substance use is eligible to participate in the program. In order to receive this support, students can speak to their advisors, as well as the school nurses and mental health coordinators.   “Working with the clinic has been an incredibly positive experience, I feel like we’re here for a good reason and I’m happy to be helping kids out. It’s very rewarding being able to help while building strong relationships with students who wouldn’t otherwise get this support.” Said Cynthia Madrid, the front desk coordinator of the clinic.  In addition to providing healthcare for high school students, the Venice Family Clinic provides services for the community, including prenatal and pediatric care as well as mental health counseling and general care for teens. The homeless population in LA is eligible for completely free healthcare, and transgender individuals can go to the clinic for hormone therapy and referrals for gender confirmation surgery. Patients in need can be connected to resources such as food stamps, housing service agencies and support for victims of domestic violence and abuse. The clinic also has a special program that brings medicine to people living on the streets and provides books and reading lessons to younger patients.  The school clinic operates out of the nurse’s office and is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays before and after school, as well as during class periods. Their reproductive health services are completely confidential and all services are free or reduced in cost.