The video commemorates the 25‑year history of Teen Health Connection (THC), a Charlotte‑based organization dedicated to adolescent health. It opens with nostalgic references to the early 1990s, describing how founders Barbara Ziegler and Dr. J partnered with local health systems (CMC, Presbyterian) to create a teen‑focused medical home. The narrative highlights the establishment of a Teen Advisory Board, early community art projects, and the organization’s rapid growth that attracted national attention, including visits from President Clinton, Muggsy Bogues, Usher, and Surgeon General David Satcher. THC’s core model is presented as a comprehensive, integrated medical and mental‑health “one‑stop shop,” featuring on‑site therapists, physicians, dietitians, and the region’s only adolescent eating‑disorder outpatient practice. The video outlines key outreach programs— the Big Picture Play (a teen‑written theater piece on STDs, suicide, substance abuse), Youth‑to‑Youth drug‑prevention conferences, and Love & Logic parenting classes— and emphasizes the organization’s adaptability to evolving teen risks such as cyber‑related behaviors. A personal testimonial illustrates THC’s life‑saving impact during a family health crisis. The speakers reflect on past challenges, including the 2008 recession, and express optimism for future expansion of services to meet unmet teen needs over the next 25 years.
Chapters
Remember bag phones, basketball short-shorts, dial-up internet, and the start of Teen Health Connection 25 years ago?
I think it's a big deal because it just shows the success of Teen Health Connection that they've made it 25 years.
25 years of helping teens in the Charlotte area grow into happy, healthy adults.
At the discussion point back in the early '90s, Barbara Ziegler and I would meet and we were chatting together about we need more things for teens. They get lost. This group identified that need and they brought Carolina's medical system, healthcare system, back then CMC and Presbyterian, into that discussion. We were in a small office on Elizabeth Avenue and I think that's where a lot of these long relationships started with the board and Barbara and, and Dr. J. When I first had the opportunity to take this position, I told Barbara, I said, Barbara, I really like to practice medicine and I love to work with adolescents, but I really don't want to be doing the fundraising. And she sort of patted me on the head and said, don't you worry about that. We'll take care of that. I think people rallied behind Dr. J and Barbara. I mean, they were really passionate and they got you passionate. We were the first group from 1992. It was my senior year of high school and Teen Health Connection was just starting and they decided to have a Teen Advisory Board and we painted the mural on the wall in that building.
This unique organization attracted national attention.
It is my honor to introduce to you and to welcome to Teen Health Connection President Clinton. Thank you, sir. But I know this, that a whole lot more of you will have successful lives as a result of this place. We've had some amazing people come together for Teen Health Connection. Like all of you, but some others that you might want to consider sort of amazing too. Well, how about that guy Muggsy Bogues? Pretty terrific, right? Former member of the Teen Health Connection Board of Directors. And that guy Raymond something or other? You know, Usher? Yeah, Usher, here in Charlotte with Barbara Ziegler creating a PSA for Teen Health Connection. Usher. David Satcher, Surgeon General of the United States.
Tremendous.
And then I think of when we've moved and moved again to our current space and how excited we were and how quickly we outgrew it and even now how we're busting at the seams. I think the adolescent years are just so awkward. They're awkward. It didn't matter if it was 1982, 1972, they're awkward. Now granted, it's a little bit faster because you can see your zits on camera and you can see your, you know, your face looks a little bit more awkward because now everybody's got pictures and phones, but it's the same. Adolescents are known for risk-taking, and now the risks seem to have expanded into the cyber world.
We help teens make healthy choices in an increasingly connected world. As we weathered the recession of 2008, Teen Health Connection remained family-centered and teen-friendly.
They high-five them in the hall, they high-five them when they come in. It's not only a medical home, but it is a place that they feel comfortable. I think there's always going to be a niche for, for a really focused provider like Teen Health that is dealing comprehensively with the needs of kids. I just have so much respect for the organization, you know, having a medical facility, having a place where these kids can come and they can show up and be who they are. You know, themselves.
Teen Health Connection. Comprehensive, integrated medical and mental health care.
It's wonderful when that therapist is down the hall. We offer that here, and I think that is part of what helps us continue to stand out. It's a one-stop shop. You can get everything taken care of, not just come in for a shot, but you can be checked for diabetes, you can be checked for high blood pressure.
Teen Health Connection is the only adolescent eating disorder outpatient practice in the region for males and females. We provide integrative care with a physician, therapist, and dietitian at the same place at the same time.
My family and my friends were all, you know, you need to lose weight, lose weight, lose weight. And so I started, and then I got— I couldn't stop, and it became like an addiction. I remember it was about 3 o'clock in the morning and my husband and I were sitting there and Taylor was unconscious at the time and her blood pressure was very low and we thought we were going to lose her. It was scary, but we made it. We made it through. And we couldn't have done it without Teen Health for sure.
Oh yeah. We continue to partner with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Northwest School of the Arts to produce the Big Picture Play, an honest look at teen problems from STDs to suicide to drug and alcohol abuse.
Why is the question you should be asking. What you should ask yourself is, what are the reasons that I should stop?
It's written by teens for teens and viewed by thousands each year. Conferences like Youth to Youth Challenged this generation to be leaders in the drug-free coalition.
I had a great time, met a lot of people, and learned a lot about drug prevention. As I had kids and kind of watched them grow up and be teenagers, it made even more sense to me about why what Teen Health does is so impactful for the teens and so— and for the families.
Impacting communication between teens and parents Our classes on parenting the Love and Logic way really work.
I'm really big on the Parenting with Love and Logic because it's not just about teens, but it helps parents. The Love and Logic just teaches so much.
Teen Health Connection. Comprehensive, integrated medical and mental health care.
Their medical evaluation is top, top-notch. A lot of places around the country need a Teen Health Connection. And here we are in Charlotte, North Carolina, and we've got the capability to do that, and it's pretty neat. I mean, it's just a wonderful story that you can tell about how this community has benefited from a program that was obviously needed and is going to continue to be needed. So Teen Health Connection in 25 years is going to be off the And I can't wait to see it. The next 25 years, I think we would have expansion of medical services. We aren't able to serve all the teens that need us. In 25 years, I think Teen Health Connection will be more impactful than it ever has been. Bigger and better.
Extraordinary.
25 years. 18 of those 25 years, I've had the privilege and honor of serving at Teen Health Connection. I've seen those kids come in that were suicidal, they were pregnant, they were cutting, they were scared, their families were scared. And we were here because of you. We were here to have an impact. We were here to change families and to help. Every day we change lives one teen at a time. Thank you. Thank you so much.
