In 2010, NCSD established a Rural Health Task Force as a means to address the challenges of providing STD services for rural populations and the unique issues these populations face, such as geographic isolation and assuring confidentiality in a small-town setting.  Adolescents seeking such services often face additional hurdles to care—irrespective of where they reside.  Many school-based health centers around the country provide adolescents with effective and convenient access to sexual and reproductive health care.

Established as a means to provide preventative and integrated health care to students, the school-based health center (SBHC) in Durango High School has been providing STD and reproductive health services since 2008.  This webinar focused on how Durango High SBHC staff worked to include services like STD testing and treatment into the menu of services with community support and consent, as well as what impact the provision of such services have had on the youth who are served.

As a result of this webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the development and continued evolution of the Durango High SBHC over time
2. Discuss how comprehensive STD and reproductive health services are provided to Durango High School students on premises
3. Name at least two strategies for successfully providing STD and reproductive health services to youth in a rural setting

Featured Speakers

Sherrod Beall, RN, MS, CPNP
District Health Coordinator
Coordinated School Health Services
Durango School District 9-R, Durango, CO

Patricia (Patsy) Ford, RN, MS
Director of the Personal Health Division and Acting Health Department Director
San Juan Basin Health Department, Durango, CO