Teen Age Medical Services, a unique but financially struggling clinic for teens and adolescents, has moved temporarily from its location in Minneapolis' Phillips neighborhood.

People's Center Health Services rescued the TAMS clinic by acquiring it earlier this year from Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, which was otherwise going to close it. While some TAMS staff were let go, People's officials believed they could streamline and even expand the clinic's services. People's status as a federally designated "safety net" clinic gives it access to additional federal resources to support the clinic's operations.

Rhonda Eastlund, People's chief program officer, said there have been delays in the processing of that transfer by the Minnesota Department of Health. As a result, she said, People's currently can't collect revenues for medical services provided at the TAMS location, and has temporarily moved the services to its Cedar Riverside building.

Staff have remained at the Phillips location to notify patients, many of whom seek pregnancy counseling, STD testing and other confidential services on a walk-in basis. Patients can receive rides or bus passes from there to get to the Cedar Riverside location, Eastlund said.

Patient activity has been down since Monday, when the clinic was temporarily moved, Eastlund said. She expects TAMS to return to its usual location in two weeks. By next summer, People's hopes to move the clinic -- which currently lacks a handicapped-accessible entrance -- to a new location in the Phillips neighborhood.