Lakeside Wellness Center

1. Lakeside Wellness Center 1805 S. 13th St. Wilmington, NC 28401 (910) 772-5552

2. Contact Information • Lakeside Wellness Center: located on the bottom floor of Lakeside School on 13th St. and Greenfield, near New Hanover Regional Medical Center. • Mike Palanza: Staff Psychologist • E-mail: mikepalanza@whatswhat.org • Phone: 910-772-5552

3. The History… • The Lakeside Wellness Center was the first school based health center opened in 1999 by WHAT (Wilmington Health Access for Teens). • This school based health center was opened to provide general health care and mental health counseling where it was needed the most (underserved teens). • The funding for the center has come from support from the community as well as a grant from The Duke Endowment. • A second school based health center was opened in 2004 at New Hanover High School.

4. WHAT’S History… • Opened in 1997 by a group of caring citizens in Wilmington, NC when they noticed that there were too many teenagers that were not given the medical and mental healthcare they needed. • Connie Parker brought together nineteen health and human service organizations to form WHAT

5. Mission Statement Wilmington Health Access for Teens improves the health of the youth of our community by ensuring access for all to quality physical and mental health services and by providing prevention, education, and outreach services to promote optimal health.”

6. What’s WHAT? • WHAT services• Minor illnesses and injuries• Wellness physical exams• Immunizations• Growth and development issues• Counseling for stress, family, school and peer issues• Comprehensive adolescent health education program • Where is WHAT? 4005 Oleander DriveWilmington, NC 28403phone : 910.790.9949whatinfo@whatswhat.org

7. Lakeside School • Not really a ‘high school’ because no one graduates from Lakeside. • A school for 9th graders that have either been suspended or can no longer go to their original school. • There are other programs that include grades 10 and above. This program is called Nova Net and is a drop-out recovery plan.

8. Wellness Center •  There are three departments in the Wellness center at Lakeside: • Doctor’s office: which has a nurse and a physician’s assistant • Nutritionist’s office • Psychologist’s office

9. My Responsibilities… • To screen students for psychological risk factors such as suicide, depression, anxiety disorders, etc… using the Columbia University Teen Screen Program. • Make appointments for the staff psychologist to see the students that were screened. • Co-facilitate Sibport group. • Started by Brian Brosnan (psychologist at WHAT) • For the siblings of autistic children to share their feelings and ideas

10. Columbia Teen Screen • The purpose of the Teen Screen is to identify at risk youth for suicide and undiagnosed mental illness and then to ensure that they receive treatment. • The Teen Screen uses a Diagnostic Predictive Scale to determine whether someone is at risk for possible suicide and/or an undiagnosed mental illness. • The computerized test is about 10 minutes and the results are either positive or negative. • All students are debriefed; although, a positive score requires that an interview is set up with the psychologist for further assessment.

11. Some characteristics that will help on the job: • Self-motivated • Assertive • Sense of independence • The ability to handle an unstructured environment • Respect the teachers!

12. Yes, I would recommend this site! Just a short video that captures what I learned from Lakeside Wellness… http://www.makeadifferencemovie.com/