The establishment of school-based clinics in North Central Regina

Most people of the most hazardous neighborhood in the nation live in North Central Regina, one of Canada's poorest cities, and depend on government assistance (Gatehouse, 2007). Health officials also discovered that the city has a high drug abuse rate and that many young girls, aged 11 to 12, work as prostitutes. Given that North Central Regina is listed as the most violent city in Canada, opening school-based clinics there is an excellent idea. High rates of poverty and criminality may make it difficult for school-age children to receive medical care without embarrassment or financial hardship. To this end, it is my dream to establish a school-based clinic in this region in collaboration with Four Directions Clinic to meet the medical demands of poor children (Leo, 2014). Studies have proved the benefits of the health of students to success in education but also point that majority of youth do not seek the attention of medical experts on health issues. Apparently, this is attributed to the majority of factors such as high poverty levels in Regina and the problem of stigmatization of children based on their health conditions. Through the opening of the Four Direction Clinic at a community school in North Central Regina, students can have access to primary medical care in a private, secure and familiar setting without leaving the school premises. The mission of this clinic would be enabling every child to achieve his or her full potential while complying with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The team of Four Direction Clinic would comprise physicians, public health nurses, and social and administrative work staff working with the youth in delivering integrated wide-range wellness services. Deductively, the services available to students would include education on the use of mental health substances, sexual health, and nutrition and community programs. The school-based clinic I seek to establish aims at working with students in delivering holistic, strength-based and client-centered wellness. This project, being new to people living in North Central Regina, drives me to believe that it would build relationships and provide youths with more convenient and secure access to healthcare. It is intended to be welcoming and casual, providing a means in which students get sexual health support such as pregnancy testing and counseling, with the primary objective of this wellness center focused on education and prevention. Notably, the essence of the Four Direction Clinic is bridging the barriers to accessing healthcare services such as fear of stigmatization and financial constraints. I consider this approach as an objective towards increasing access to medical care and establishing a healthy relationship with the youth. This notwithstanding, my clinic would be driven by values such as respecting people, the environment and having a belief in the community of North Central Regina as the place of belonging and anchor of the child. Additional values include the commitment to supporting and accompanying children and their families through mobilization, openness and flexibility, and respecting the integrity and rights of people. Finally, we seek to recognize that children and their community and family networks are carriers of transformation and having an entrepreneurial spirit leading to tangible results.

Drawing my inspirations from the success of the Foundation Dr. Gilles Julien and Nanaimo's John Barsby Wellness Centre (Cunningham, 2016) that have proved that this project is plausible, I am motivated to develop a clinic of my own. The former and latter mentioned are indispensable in controlling and obtaining medical services to underprivileged students in a school setting, overcoming the hurdles in accessing medical assistance. In addition to the educational and health impacts, Four Direction Clinic aims at providing opportunities that expose youths to projects that advocate for empowerment and healthy development. This mechanism would make students meet their basic social and personal needs to feel cared for, valued and safe while building their competencies and skills. In efforts of realizing this objective, I seek to instill a youth advisory board that would make recommendations on policy and programs that would engage young people in health services initiatives. Therefore, to achieve my dream of establishing Four Direction Clinic in North Central Regina, I have to identify a community school or hospital considering that I already have the financial support. Furthermore, there is the need for identification of suppliers of required medical equipment, medication and health practitioners to run the facility. Effective coordination with a non-profit organization, school administrative structure, universities and mental health agencies is indispensable towards achieving desired success at Regina. Finally, it is my hope that through this initiative, I would influence positively on the lives of school going children in North Central Regina.











Works Cited

Ambresin, Anne-Emmanuelle, et al. "Assessment of youth-friendly health care: a systematic review of indicators drawn from young people's perspectives." Journal of Adolescent Health 52.6 (2013): 670-681.

Bureau, Anne. "Fondation Dr. Gilles Julien". Web. 25 Feb. 2017.

Cunningham, Tamara. "Medical Help On Site For Barsby Students". Nanaimo News Bulletin (2016): n. pag. Web. 25 Feb. 2017.

Gatehouse, Jonathon. "In 2007, Canada’S Worst Neighbourhood Was In Regina". MACLEAN'S (2007): n. pag. Web. 25 Feb. 2017.

Leo, Geoff. "Canada’S Worst Neighbourhood’ Needs More Attention: Community Leaders, Residents". CBCNEWS (2014): n. pag. Web. 25 Feb. 2017.

Wei, Yifeng, et al. "The effectiveness of school mental health literacy programs to address knowledge, attitudes and help seeking among youth." Early intervention in psychiatry 7.2 (2013): 109-121.