Martha Eliot Health Center
Transition Medicine
At Martha Eliot Health Center, our physicians are leaders in bridging the gap between pediatrics and adult medicine. Patients in our program are being followed for a variety of conditions, including congenital heart disease, autism, sickle cell disease, Type 1 diabetes, Down Syndrome and cerebral palsy. Our goal is to make the transition from pediatric to adult medicine more comfortable for patients and their families.
The Transition team at Martha Eliot provides a medical home for young adults with chronic disease as well as their families. We provide a full range of preventive care through well visits, also urgent care in times of sickness. Our doctors are staff physicians at both Boston Children's Hospital and at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, so they have access to a full array of specialists.
Eligibility:
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Any patient in pediatrics, adolescent medicine or adult medicine if:
- The patient is diagnosed with a condition in childhood that continues into adulthood
- The condition affects many areas of the patient’s life, including development, social interactions, attending school and finding a job
Goals/Services:
- Primary care by physicians who are trained in both pediatrics and adult medicine
- Connection to specialists at Boston Children's Hospital and at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Social work and case management support to access community resources
Contact Information:
- Frances “Kitty” O’Hare, MD Transition Coordinator, frances.ohare@childrens.harvard.edu
Outside Resources:
MEHC Transition Policy
Martha Eliot Health Center is committed to a smooth transition from childhood to adolescence to young adulthood. This process requires collaboration between patients/families and the medical team. By age 14 years, all youth in our practice will begin transition planning by moving to an adolescent medicine care model. By age 18 years, all youth will participate in their own care as adults, with modifications as needed for youth with special needs. By age 22 years, all patients will receive primary care from an adult medicine provider.
Spotlight
Transitioning the chronically ill patient from pediatric to adult care
More than 9 million children in the United States are living with a chronic illness. Every year, 500,000 of these children turn 18. As they join their fellow adolescents in struggling to achieve optimal independence while navigating the often rocky road to adulthood, these children and their families also face a serious issue they may not be prepared for: the transition of their medical care.
"I wanted to pursue this issue, in particular, because I was struck by how many kids' doctors weren't prepared to handle the transition process," says Frances "Kitty" O'Hare, MD, who is trained in a combined Internal Pediatrics program that treats both adult and pediatric patients at Martha Eliot Health Center.
Learn how Dr. O'Hare and Niraj Sharma, MD, MPH, program director of the Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Children’s are laying the groundwork for a transition medicine practice at MEHC—from training practitioners to starting to map out a transition process by the time their patients are 13, to identifying developmentally appropriate ways of building independence, to affecting policy and making key changes in the clinical care environment. Click here to read the entire article.
Transition tips: Teen health and college life
When back-to-school time hits, everyone is nervous about their new roommates, their class schedules and whether they will be homesick. But for some patients, going to college is especially nerve-wracking because it will be their first time living away from home with a chronic disease. Here’s tips on making that transition easier.
Setting the Stage for Medical Independence
Bridging the Gap: Transitioning from Child to Adult Care
