Rock Hill's Teen Health Center's future in jeopardy

The mentoring group 14-year-old Jamesha Massey attends at the Teen Health Center in Rock Hill gives her something to look forward to each week.

"It's positive, it's nice and I've learned a lot I didn't know," Massey said. She also participated in a baby-sitting club, self-esteem classes and a poetry writing group at the center.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the local youth mentoring and pregnancy prevention effort that began as the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Council.

It also could be the teen center's last.

Because of state funding cuts and changes to Medicaid, executive director Patricia Kelsaw fears the nonprofit center will be forced to close this summer.

That would be bad news for people like Jamesha and her mother, Janice Massey of Rock Hill, who said the teen program has made a difference in her daughter's attitude and self esteem.

"I will be praying that they don't close," Massey said.

The center, located in office space behind Earth Fare on Cherry Road, provides physical and mental health services, health education and advocacy resources to 11- to 18-year-old York County children and their families.

The goal is to prevent pregnancy, Kelsaw said - but the center offers help with a broad variety of issues faced by teens of both genders.

Its future is in jeopardy because of state funding cuts, decreasing grant availability and lost revenue due to changes in Medicaid.

It costs about $290,000 to run the Teen Health Center yearly, Kelsaw said.

This year, the center lost 10 percent of its $90,000 state grant money and 75 percent of its Medicaid reimbursements. Medicaid normally brings $20,000 in revenue for the center, but this year with the Medicaid changes the center received less than $7,000, Kelsaw said.

The center is also dependent on a United Way grant. This year, Kelsaw said the center requested $25,000, but only received $18,000.

Donations to the center are also down 50 percent, Kelsaw said. Typically the center receives about $20,000 in donations, she said, but this year donations have totaled just $10,000.

Other money that keeps the center running comes through fundraisers held throughout the year and grants that fund specific programs. Kelsaw said she doesn't expect the fundraisers to raise the $13,000 they did last year. She said grant money is becoming harder to obtain.

The health clinic and counseling services have been available to teens with Medicaid or certain insurance policies and are offered on a sliding fee scale for others.

The teen center, which opened in 2001, last year served more than 2,000 York County teens of all races and socioeconomic groups, Kelsaw said. The center grew out of the Pregnancy Prevention Council, which started in 1989.

To keep operating with less revenue, the center has reduced two of its three full-time staff members to part-time, Kelsaw said.

Kelsaw expects state funding will be cut further in June because of the state's dire economic circumstances.

Office manager Jan Richards, a full-time employee for four years, feels an attachment to the kids. She wonders how the loss would affect the families the center helps.

"We can't let the calls go unanswered, because even if we can't help, we are a resource for help," Richards said. She said teens and parents often call or show up, just looking for guidance.

Kelsaw said the loss of the center could affect the success of those who depend on its services.

The center empowers teens and gives them a voice, Kelsaw said. It helps them develop confidence and self-esteem, which affects their success as an adult, she said.

With York County's teen pregnancy rate on the rise, coupled with the economic downturn, Kelsaw said the community needs the center more than ever.

In 2006, there were 459 teen pregnancies in York County -- up 24 percent from the 370 teen pregnancies reported in 2004, according to a study by the S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.

The center's nurse practitioner, Jill Simpson, said the center helps prevent pregnancy because it provides a comprehensive approach to teens' needs.

Simpson said when she sees teens in the health clinic for sick or well visits, she spends about 30 minutes talking to them and asking about their home life.

The conversation will cover topics such as sexuality, substance abuse and other teen concerns that might not be addressed by another health care provider, Simpson said.

"The kids I see are not necessarily kids making bad choices," she said. "I see kids that are making great choices, and I try to reinforce that and I help the ones that need guidance."

But due to changes to Medicaid, Simpson is not seeing as many teens at the center's clinic as she did in the past.

Simpson said Medicaid has changed to a managed-care system, which means a teen has to be referred to the center by a primary care physician.

If the center closes, other organizations that depend on its programs will have to look elsewhere. The Children's Attention Home sends teens to the center's game night and some mentoring groups, Kelsaw said, and some family court judges and juvenile probation officers refer teens to the center's programs.

Richard Pickering, a health educator for the center, said he's been working with some of the teen boys for more than a year.

"I look at them as kids a lot of people don't want to deal with. This is a one-stop shop for a lot of teenagers. It would be a great loss," he said.

Johnathon Gladden, a 13-year-old who attends a boy's mentoring group at the center, said he has developed friendships with other teens and adults who participate in the mentoring groups.

"And," he said, "I would miss the fun."

The Teen Health Center is in need of monetary donations to help pay utilities, rent, staff and a driver who picks up teens for activities. The center also needs food items.

The center will have a fundraiser from 7 to 10 p.m. March 21 at the Cotton Club, the Old Cotton Factory, downtown Rock Hill. Tickets are $30 per person and $50 per couple.

The event will feature live jazz, R&B and dance music by Plair, heavy hors d'oeuvres, an open bar and a wine pull. For tickets, call 803-366-9119.

This story was originally published February 1, 2009 at 12:10 AM with the headline "Rock Hill's Teen Health Center's future in jeopardy."