$1.2 million grant establishes The Grow Clinic located at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children

The Grow Clinic, established by a $1.2 million grant awarded to the Drexel University School of Public Health by the Claneil Foundation, offers a multi-disciplinary program to help pediatric patients suffering from failure to thrive (FTT), a condition where a child has a significant problem growing and maintaining a normal weight compared to others of similar age and sex.

Located on the campus of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, the Grow Clinic is comprised of a team that includes a pediatrician, nurse practitioner, nutritionist, psychologist and social worker. The program employs service intervention, advocacy and research to help children achieve normal weight gain, good nutrition and proper development.

"An underweight child suffering from failure to thrive may have inadequate nutrition and be more vulnerable to the long-term effects on brain development and IQ levels," said Hans Kersten, M.D., medical director, The Grow Clinic, St. Christopher's Pediatric Associates and Co-Principal Investigator of the Philadelphia Grow Project. "Our goal is to minimize the long-term effects of failure to thrive."

According to Drexel University School of Public Health Professor Mariana Chilton, Ph.D., M.P.H., Principal Investigator of the Philadelphia Grow Project, "The research we conduct at the Grow Clinic will allow us to track the hunger, health and well-being of our infants and toddlers as these factors relate to public assistance programs such as temporary aid, food stamps and housing assistance."

For more information on The Grow Clinic, please call 215-427-GROW (4769).