Demand for Boston Medical Center’s Grow Clinic grows

Demand for Boston Medical Center’s Grow
Clinic grows
(March 2009 Issue)

By Elinor Nelson

"The economic news is written on the bodies and brains of young children," says Deborah Frank, M.D., the director and founder of Boston Medical Center's Grow Clinic. The clinic has been taking care of children for 25 years, but the need has never been greater for this program with the mission of helping Greater Boston's hungriest children. The Grow Clinic treats children who are diagnosed with Failure to Thrive, delivering specialty medical, nutritional and social services.

With the economy sliding and unemployment rising, many poor children are hungry. The referral rate was up 12 percent in 2008 compared to 2007 and it has doubled since 2000. "In the past three months," states Frank, "we have had to hospitalize five severely malnourished infants all under a year old (during the most rapid period of brain growth), all from different families, many with - until recently - working parents. That is more babies than we had to hospitalize in the whole preceding 12 month period."

"Hunger is a mental health issue, too," explains Frank. Malnutrition can cause emotional problems, poor attention span and maternal depression - as well as delayed learning and language skills, impaired motor skills, increased risk of illness and persistent growth failure. Studies in China and Holland have shown correlations between hunger and schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and other studies have shown that iron deficiencies are associated with depression and intrauterine exposure to malnutrition can cause mental illness.

The Grow Clinic serves mainly low-income families from greater Boston and has treated more than 1,650 children since its inception. In 2007 alone, their food pantry fed nearly 50,000 people. They have a long term view of what it takes to recover from malnutrition, taking an average of 18 months to successfully treat a child; most other malnutrition programs run for about six weeks. The Grow Clinic's wait time for treatment is one to two weeks, but it's treating many patients who are younger and more ill than before. More patients now are under one year of age and about 10 percent are homeless and living in shelters. With the Grow Clinic's intervention, these children are getting healthier and their risk of hospitalization has declined from 50 percent in 1984 to 5 percent in 2006.

In addition to offering pediatricians, nutritionists, and social workers, Grow Clinic personnel will visit the child's home and school or day care center to see where help is needed. The program helps families access nutritious foods, transportation, clothing and housing. Since many of their services are not reimbursed by insurance, the Grow Clinic relies upon private donations. They are uncertain of this year's fundraising prospects, but, says Frank, "we are clearly running as fast as we can to stay in the same place to keep up with accelerating need."