More than half of American youths with special health care needs do not receive the necessary support for a smooth transition from pediatric health care to adult health care, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

To bridge that gap, over the next three years, Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach will help nearly 1,000 "high-risk" young adults with chronic illness transition from child-centered to adult-centered health care supported by a $750,000 grant from the UniHealth Foundation.

The UniHealth Foundation is a nonprofit philanthropic organization whose mission is to support and facilitate activities that significantly improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities within its service area.

"As the Affordable Care Act takes effect, it is important, now more than ever, that we focus on providing the best education and support for our complex-ill patients as they prepare to become independent and enter a changing health care landscape," says Divya Joshi, M.D., MMM, Chief Medical Officer, Miller Children's.

Miller Children's was successful in implementing a transition program for patients with cystic fibrosis more than a decade ago, but as children with chronic pediatric diseases are living longer, the need for standardized transition care for numerous diagnoses has become essential.

In 2013, Miller Children's began piloting a comprehensive Transition of Care Program that focused on the transition from pediatric to adult health care for patients with Type 1 diabetes and sickle cell disease.

Over the next three years, Miller Children's will expand its program even further to provide transition care for patients with Type 2 diabetes, pediatric cancer and a wider population of cystic fibrosis patients.

For young people with diabetes, sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis and cancer there is mounting evidence that poor transition results in poor health outcomes and increased service costs.

"The grant allows us to make our transition care a more formal process," says Erika Jewell, LCSW, Transition Navigator, Miller Children's and Long Beach Memorial. "It also adds an additional transition navigator who will not only help guide each patient through this process, but help us to expand our reach to new patient populations."

The program will begin transition education for patients starting around age 14. Every year, from ages 14 - 21, patients will receive education tailored to their developmental stage starting with basic information about their diagnosis and eventually tackling topics like future care providers, insurance and preparing for college or the workforce - all while managing the unique obstacles of their diagnosis.

The success of the transition care program is helped by the fact that Miller Children's shares a campus with Long Beach Memorial. A large part of the transition process is strengthening the relationships and communication between the pediatric and adult care teams.

"For many of our patients, the most difficult transition period is when they turn 21," says Jewell. "They lose the doctor they've had for years and perhaps their whole life. It can be emotional and difficult for the patients and our staff.

"Because we haven't had a lot of formal processes in place to prepare them it feels sudden and scary. Now, they will be better prepared to navigate through these changes."

This grant was made possible through the Memorial Medical Center Foundation.

About Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach:

Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach, part of the MemorialCare Health System, provides specialized pediatric care for children and young adults, with conditions ranging from common to complex - as well as maternity care for expectant mothers - all under one roof. Only five percent of all hospitals are children's hospitals, making them unique not only to children's health care needs in the community, but across the region. Miller Children's is one of only eight free-standing children's hospitals in California - treating more than 14,000 children each year - and has become a regional pediatric destination for more than 84,000 children, who need specialized care in the outpatient specialty and satellite centers. Miller Children's recently completed a major expansion project to expand the pediatric cancer center, neonatal intensive care unit and the MemorialCare Center for Women. Visit MillerChildrens.org, like us on Facebook.com/MillerChildrensHospital, follow us on Twitter @MillerChildrens and on Instagram @MillerChildrens.

Miller Children?s Hospital Long Beach
Beatrice Jimenez
Office: (562) 933-2812
Cell: (562) 587-7990
bjimenez@memorialcare.org