Dayton Children’s officially opens The Child Health Pavilion

Dayton Children’s officially opens The Child Health Pavilion on Monday, May 20, 2019, reinventing the path to children’s health care for families in our region and beyond. This new space will support a truly unique, integrative model of pediatric primary care excellence unlike anything seen across the country.

The new and innovative care model integrates a primary care medical home, behavioral health and specialty clinical services for vulnerable populations (children in foster/kinship care, children with medical complexities, children with weight issues) alongside community-based programs to address the social determinants of health such as food insecurity, housing instability, durable goods and educational resources for children.

Despite having some of the best children’s hospitals in the country, the state of children’s health in Ohio is devastatingly low. Why? Because research shows the majority of a child’s health is determined by factors outside of health care.

”We cannot achieve our mission of optimal health for every child without addressing the struggles they face every day, like lack of food, substandard housing or even having the right school supplies,” says Deborah A. Feldman, president and CEO of Dayton Children’s Hospital. ”We envisioned The Child Health Pavilion as a place to not only elevate what happens in the doctor’s office but to bridge the gap to accessing the social services that will help our children be healthier, today and into adulthood.”

A few of the unique components built into the Child Health Pavilion in addition to the innovative primary care medical home include:

• A teaching kitchen where families can learn and practice preparing nutritious and tasty recipes
• The Food Pharm where, in partnership with the Dayton Foodbank, families in need can get emergency boxes of nutritious food.
• The Family Resource Connection where advocates connect families with an identified social need to the appropriate community resources, including food, housing, transportation, after-school care or baby supplies.

None of the work at The Child Health Pavilion could be done without collaboration and partnership with local, state and even national organizations and agencies. No one group could bring about the level of change necessary to truly impact the course of our children’s overall health. “We are incredibly fortunate to be blessed with a community that is rallying around our children and a Governor who has made children a key priority of his agenda,” says Feldman.

“Ensuring all of Ohio’s children are able to grow up in a healthy and safe environment so they have the opportunity to live up to their full potential is one of my top priorities,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “This new facility offers the Dayton-area’s most vulnerable children one place to access comprehensive medical care and a variety of community services. I am pleased that Ohio’s First Lady was able to attend the official opening of The Child Health Pavilion at Dayton Children’s, as we work to improve health and wellness for all of Ohio’s children.”