Mayor Gary Christenson was pleased to join Cambridge Health Alliance’s (CHA) CEO, Dr. Assaad Sayah, for an official ribbon cutting celebrating the opening of the Teen Health Center at Malden High School. They were joined by Superintendent Ligia Noriega-Murphy, Malden High School Principal Chris Mastrangelo, members of the State Delegation, city officials and students from the Malden Teen Enrichment Center.
A student-based health center has been a long-standing goal of Mayor Christenson and follows years of collaboration between the City, CHA, and the Tufts University Family Medicine Residency at CHA. The licensed state-of-the-art health center offers an innovative model for delivering teen-centered primary care services during school hours that will remove barriers to care for students ages 12 - 21. It will further enhance the existing school health program and work cooperatively within the school community to become an integral part of the setting.
“We are pleased to finally be able to achieve the goal of providing health care to students in an environment that is trusted and immediately accessible to them,” said Malden Mayor Gary Christenson. “Thank you to Cambridge Health Alliance for their partnership in making this possible and to our State Delegation for their continued support.”
“The Teen Health Center in Malden is an extension of our mission to improve the health of our communities and meet our patients where it is most convenient for them and their families,” said Assaad Sayah, MD, CHA’s CEO. “I am very grateful for the support of the City of Malden and our legislative delegation throughout this process.”
School-based health centers provide comprehensive care in a safe environment that allows students to address physical and mental health needs while remaining in school and missing limited classroom time. In coordination with the school nurses, the Teen Health Center at Malden High will provide a full range of medical and diagnostic care conveniently located on-site, including immunizations, mental health and substance use counseling, dental care, sleep support, healthy eating, testing and screenings, and free and confidential sexual and reproductive health services. The center will be open whenever school is in session, and services are available regardless of students’ ability to pay, insurance coverage, or immigration status. CHA also operates three other school-based health centers in Cambridge, Everett, and Somerville.