Dr. Seth Ammerman listens intently to his new patient. Ernesto, who does not want his last name disclosed, is homeless. Ernesto is earning a high school degree and working part time, but at night, he and his brother share a tent that they set up on San Jose streets. The daily stress of being homeless is wearing Ernesto out and making him light up too many cigarettes.
“I just want to cut down on my smoking,” says Ernesto, 21, with a tentative, soft voice. “I’ve been on the streets all the time, you know? I just want to make sure I’m OK.”
That’s why Ernesto walked into this mobile clinic parked just a few steps away from his classroom at the San Jose Conservation Corps & Charter School. He’s sitting in a fully equipped exam room inside a shiny blue tour bus with Wi-Fi and the ability to get HIV test results in 20 minutes.
During the consultation with Ernesto, Ammerman nods sympathetically. In his 20 years working in this teen health van, Ammerman has treated thousands of uninsured and homeless adolescents ages 24 and under.
Twice a week, Ammerman and two nurses park the clinic at continuation high schools and other places frequented by at-risk adolescents in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties. The van is a community project of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and Children’s Health Fund, with support from Samsung.
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