Maintaining good health is an essential first step for transitioning youth as they move toward fulfilling their personal vision for adult life. They need sustained support to ensure that their long-term health needs are met during the transition to adulthood. Youth who have experienced abuse, neglect, or other trauma resulting in out-of-home placement often enter Boys Town with challenges related to physical health.

In order to better prepare youth for accessing health care and leading healthier lives following out-of-home placement, the Boys Town Institute for Child Health Improvement has developed a Transitions Clinic. Through this clinic Boys Town youth are assessed for their understanding of preventive health care and provided needed health education. Additional health education is incorporated into the youths’ Senior Planning. Youth are provided a personal health record upon departure, including a list of health care resources for their own community. Clinical staff work with the youth to identify a health care professional or clinic in their community that will serve as the youth’s medical home and provide consultation to that medical home to ease the transition of care and assure continuity.

Funding for this program is provided in part by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).

For more information about the Transitions Clinic at Boys Town, please contact Jane Kavan, RN at kavanj@boystown.org