Akron Children’s Opens Pediatric Care Inside Broadway Boys & Girls Club in Cleveland

What Is Akron Children’s Pediatrics at Broadway Boys & Girls Club?

Akron Children’s Pediatrics at Broadway Boys & Girls Club is a full-service pediatric primary care practice opening on the Boys & Girls Club campus at 6114 Broadway Ave. in Cleveland.

The practice brings medical care to a place where many children already spend their afternoons and summers. Services include same-day sick visits, well checks and integrated behavioral healthcare for children, teens and young adults ages 0 to 21+.

Brian Dinger, vice president of primary care and school health services at Akron Children’s, says the goal is to make healthcare more convenient and approachable. “All families in the area can access healthcare more conveniently and confidently,” he says.

Who Can Receive Care at the Broadway Practice?

The Broadway practice will serve Boys & Girls Club members and any child or family in the surrounding community. Families do not need to be club members to make an appointment.

What Services Will the Broadway Practice Offer?

The new 3,165-square-foot practice will include six exam rooms and a dedicated space for behavioral health appointments. Care at the location includes:

• Same-day sick visits

• Well checks

• Comprehensive pediatric primary care

• Integrated behavioral health services

Why Is Akron Children’s Bringing Pediatric Care to a Boys & Girls Club?

Akron Children’s is placing care in a setting families already know and trust, with the aim of removing common barriers to pediatric healthcare.

Those barriers can include transportation limitations, scheduling difficulties, navigating insurance, and work, school and family responsibilities. Dinger and the Akron Children’s pediatric team see these challenges every day in primary care. “We really want to meet the families where they are,” he says. “Club members are already visiting these locations for afterschool and summer programs, mentoring, education, athletics and other activities.”

Why Was Broadway Chosen as the First Location?

Broadway emerged as a natural place to launch the partnership because Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio (BGCNEO) serves a large number of children and families there, in an area with need.

The partnership also aligns with both organizations’ missions. Healthy lifestyles is one of BGCNEO’s three core pillars, and Akron Children’s focuses specifically on the health of children, teens and young adults.

How Does the Partnership Reach Beyond Cleveland’s Broadway Location?

BGCNEO operates more than 30 clubs across Cuyahoga, Lorain, Erie and Summit counties. Through the partnership, those locations can connect members with Akron Children’s network of 46 pediatric primary care practices.

Services available through that network include:

• Walk-in and same-day sick visits

• Well-child care

• Behavioral health

• Nutrition counseling

• Access to specialists

How Do Virtual Visits and Quick Care Online® Work at Boys & Girls Clubs?

All 30+ BGCNEO clubs have access to iPads that can be used for virtual health visits and Quick Care Online® visits. With parental consent, a club staff member can help facilitate a visit if a child becomes sick while at the club.

Dinger offers a simple example. A child develops conjunctivitis, or “pink eye,” during the day while waiting for a parent to finish work. Rather than requiring another trip to a medical office after pickup, a virtual or Quick Care Online® visit can take place from the club. If appropriate, a prescription can be sent to the pharmacy for parents to pick up on the way home.

What If a Family Needs In-Person Care but Has Transportation Challenges?

For families who need an in-person appointment but face transportation challenges, Akron Children’s works with insurance payers to help arrange transportation.

The goal is to create multiple routes to care rather than expecting every family to reach it the same way.

How Does Akron Children’s Integrate Behavioral Healthcare?

Akron Children’s integrates behavioral health services into its primary care practices. Behavioral health screenings are part of well-child visits, and mental health therapists are available to provide additional support.

For Dinger, putting physical and emotional health under the same roof is essential. The approach also fits the work of Boys & Girls Clubs, where programming encompasses academic success, healthy lifestyles and character development.

“Children can’t achieve their full potential academically, socially or physically if mental health needs are not addressed,” he says. “Early intervention, when needed, is key.”

How Will Akron Children’s Measure Success?

Over time, Akron Children’s will look beyond the number of appointments delivered. Measures such as well-child visit completion, immunization rates, behavioral health engagement and unnecessary emergency department use can help show whether easier access is translating into better health.

Dinger’s simplest measure of success is also the most personal. “More children have a trusted medical home,” he says. “They receive preventive care earlier.”

Families, he adds, can access that care more confidently because it is connected to places they already know and trust.

What Does the Partnership Mean for Akron Children’s Growth in Greater Cleveland?

The partnership is also a different model for growing Akron Children’s presence in Greater Cleveland and across Northern Ohio. Dinger says the health system is exploring opportunities to work with organizations that already have relationships within their communities.

The Broadway practice puts this idea into bricks and mortar. The wider BGCNEO relationship carries it across four counties.

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