ADHD Clinic

Greater Lawrence Family Health Center (GLFHC)
Lawrence, MA

CAVU funding through 12/31/08: $145,000

Results: Served over 300 kids. Trained 25 providers.
Achieved 62% overall parent satisfaction rate.
Continuing to build ADHD treatment capacity.

In 2006, CAVU and GLFHC partnered to establish a Wednesday morning pediatric clinic designed to target Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The clinic was formed in response to concerns of health center physicians that while ADHD was becoming more prevalent, they were ill-equipped to treat the condition. Patients are referred to the clinic by GLFHC primary care physicians, and both teachers and caretakers have the opportunity to provide input on the child’s behavior. Through pediatrician Terry Moran, MD and behavioral psychologist Giovanna Romero, PhD, the clinic provides comprehensive individual treatment sessions with children and their families to address the many factors that can contribute to hyperactive behavior.

In addition to these services, the clinic also serves as an educational tool for other medical practitioners. Patient educators are trained to assist in supporting parents with ADHD children, and primary care providers are invited to cycle through the clinic to learn more about diagnosis and treatment of the conditions.

There has been a consistently high demand for the ADHD Clinic’s services. The clinic is regularly booked out 4 to 6 weeks at a time with high follow-up rates. In its two and a half years in operation, the ADHD clinic has served over 300 children, roughly 90% of whom are ethnic minorities. Patient followups reveal that 58% of patients reported improved academic behavior and 60% showed improved home behavior with an overall parent satisfaction rate of 62%. This summer, the clinic has completely redesigned the initial and follow-up visit templates in their EMR system to allow timely and accurate data reporting.

To date, 25 providers have been trained through the ADHD clinic. The providers are asked to evaluate their experience upon completion of the clinical training program, yielding an average Provider Satisfaction rating of 4 on a scale of 1-5. The majority of providers indicate that as a result of the training program, they now feel comfortable treating a child that has been diagnosed with ADHD.