What to expect during your first appointment with the Rainbow Program or Complex Care Service
Your arrival. We are located inside of the Primary Care Center at Boston Children's Hospital. CCS also sees patients in the Lexington satellite, Waltham satellite, Cerebral Palsy Clinic (CP Clinic- Fegan 2), and Center for Spina Bifida and Spinal Cord Conditions (Fegan 3 and the Waltham satellite)
Clinic locations:
Rainbow Program and Complex Care Service: 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115. Enter the first door on your left before the Ambulatory entrance to Boston Children's Hospital. Turn left and you will be at our check-in area.
Cerebral Palsy Clinic meets every Wednesday in Boston. CP Clinic is located on Fegan 2, in the orthopedic clinic. Enter the hospital through the Ambulatory entrance, and turn left to the Fegan elevators. Go to the second floor and check in at the Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Department.
Boston Children's Lexington: Please use the address below to enter into your GPS or Google Maps.
- 482 Bedford St., Lexington, MA 02420
Boston Children's Waltham: Please use the address below to enter into your GPS or Google Maps.
- 9 Hope Ave., Waltham, MA 02553
Prior to your appointment
If your child sees specialists outside of Boston Children's Hospital or if you are transferring care to Boston Children's Hospital you will need to have outside records sent to Complex Care Service (CCS) prior to your child's CCS appointment. Please have the last note from each specialist who follows your child (outside of Boston Children's) faxed to the CCS Clinic. Our fax number is 617-730-0621.
Your first CCS appointment
The appointment will last about an hour. We ask that you arrive 15 minutes early so we can obtain your child's vital signs, height, and weight, and also review your child's medications. We ask that you bring a list of your child's medications with you to this appointment. This list should include the dose, and how often the medication is given.
You will meet with one of our physicians or nurse practitioners. After reviewing your child's history and conducting a physical exam, the provider will work with you to identify goals for your child's care, both short-term and long-term. Together you will create a plan to address those goals and needs. The provider will also ask you if there is anything specific you are looking for our help with.
Appointments
Our providers will often recommend a child be seen by other specialists at Boston Children's. You can choose to have our scheduling service set up appointments for you, or we can give you the phone numbers to the other clinics and you can call to set these appointments up yourself. If you choose to have our schedulers set up appointments for you, please let the provider know if there are any days or times that you are unable to come. Our schedulers try to coordinate appointments when possible, however for a variety of reasons this may not be possible. When appointments are set up, a letter will be mailed to you with this information.
Need an appointment?
Talk to your primary care physician for a referral, or call 617-355-6162 to speak to a Complex Care Service professional.
During the intake process, the necessary medical history will be obtained to help the CCS staff begin to understand your child's needs.
You also may complete the following form and fax it to us at 617-730-0621.