Adolescents are under-insured and underserved. Many physicians would rather have a root canal than face a teen with questions about sex. Most teens are happy, healthy, and actually get along with their parents despite the media's assertion that they all are drug-using, gun-carrying, pregnant, parent-hating psychopaths. In reality, sexual activity has gone down as has pregnancy, abortion, drug use and violence. Television and movies depict most drug users as people of color when in truth they are white.

Teens who live in poverty are socially, economically and medically disenfranchised. Venice Family Clinic, the largest free clinic in the United States, was first established in two rooms borrowed from a dental clinic.

The clinic now provides comprehensive medical services with over 90,000 visits a year. Over five years ago, Dr. Michael Wilkes and I started the teen clinic. We now have three sessions a week at Venice Family Clinic, providing care to 15-20 teens a session. We provide a wide range of services, including family planning, acute illness care, well care and management of chronic illness. There are social workers in each clinic.Dr. Karen Clamp provides an outreach clinic at a local high school once a week and Drs. Blanca Andres, Sarah Carpenter and I staff five sessions at Culver City Youth Health Center, a school-based clinic. This clinic is a part of Venice Family Clinic expanding its teen clinics to nine per week.

The teens served are from working poor families, where their medical and psychosocial needs often take second place to putting a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs.

The teen clinics are staffed by 1) medical assistants, 2) coordinators who make follow-up appointments and referrals, and review medication instructions, 3) social workers who provide mental health care and 4) medical students and nurse practitioner students, and pediatric, internal medicine and OB/GYN residents supervised by teen clinic attendings.

Dr. Anderson has devoted his clinical work and teaching to caring for high-risk teens. Not only does Dr. Anderson volunteer to care for these people who often have not been cared for, but he is the type of clinical teacher whose enthusiasm, energy and knowl- edge are infectious. Scores of pediatricians have benefited from his teaching and have been introduced to the world of adolescent medicine with an approach that has changed their view of these young adults. We are proud to honor Dr. Anderson.