More than 300 kids were registered for this year's event, where they received free sports physicals, immunizations and access to important resources supporting their mental health and emotional well-being.
Three years after Providence Swedish, Seattle Sounders FC and Renton School District teamed up to remove barriers to physical and mental health services for Renton students, thousands of students are getting help sooner — and many are showing measurable progress.
That impact was front and center Aug. 13, when Providence Swedish and Seattle Sounders FC joined Renton School District in hosting the fourth annual Community Assist: Renton School District Health Fair at the Providence Swedish Performance Center & Clubhouse in Renton.
The free event gathers physicians, clinicians, volunteers and educators to help students start their school year feeling supported, resilient and ready to succeed. Approximately 310 kids were registered for this year's event, where they received free sports physicals, immunizations and access to important resources supporting their mental health and emotional well-being.
Funded by Providence’s Well Being Trust and utilizing the curriculum of Work2BeWell, a teen-driven mental health program, the Providence Swedish-Sounders partnership is helping remove barriers to care by expanding access to school-based virtual therapy and mental health education across Renton middle and high schools.
Approximately 15,000 district students now have access to districtwide virtual therapy funded through Providence's Well Being Trust, giving students more timely support and helping reduce stigma around asking for help.
“It’s crazy to think that that most high schoolers and middle schoolers don’t have access to those [mental health] services,” said Providence Swedish’s Executive Medical Director for Rehabilitation and Performance Medicine Steven Stanos, D.O.
The health fair reflects Providence Swedish’s commitment to a community-centered approach that removes barriers to healthcare. At the event, families connected with physicians — many of whom serve other pro teams including the WNBA’s Seattle Storm and the Sounders’ reserve team, the Tacoma defiance — and learned about preventive health services and mental health resources.
Several parents expressed their appreciation for the event’s high-quality comprehensive care, noting its importance as a “one-stop shop” for busy working families.
“We take students’ health just as seriously as we take the health of elite athletes,” said Dr. Stanos. “For families who don’t have insurance and aren’t taking their child in to see a doctor, this might be their only chance each year.”
Providence Swedish has served the Puget Sound region since the first Providence hospital opened in Seattle in 1877 and the first Swedish hospital opened in 1910. The two organizations affiliated in 2012 and today comprise the largest health care delivery system in Western Washington, with 24,000 caregivers, eight hospitals and 244 clinics throughout Western Washington – from Everett to Centralia. A not-for-profit family of organizations, Providence Swedish provides more than $545 million in community benefit in the Puget Sound region each year. The health system offers a comprehensive range of services and specialty and subspecialty care in a number of clinical areas, including cancer, cardiovascular health, neurosciences, orthopedics, digestive health and women’s and children’s care. For more information, visit providence.org/swedish.
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