Important Announcements

Nondiscrimination Policy Update

Boston Medical Center Health System complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national origin (including limited English proficiency and primary language), religion, culture, physical or mental disabilities, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity and/or expression. BMCHS provides free aids and services to people with disabilities and free language services to people whose primary language is not English.

To read our full Nondiscrimination Statement, click here.

The Grow Clinic for Children

Provider Resources

About Our Patients 

Since the clinic was founded in 1984, more than 1,650 FTT children have graduated from our program. In 2023, over 220 children were served in the clinic. The following are some of our findings: 

  • Average time of successful treatment is 20 months. 
  • About 12 percent of our children are homeless and live in shelters.
  • 98 percent of our children depend on public health insurance.

Ten to 20 percent of children newly referred to the Grow Clinic were less than 2,500 grams at birth (low birth weight), and 89 percent of the children referred were less than 24 months old. 

Community Outreach 

The Grow Clinic serves a diverse patient population, mostly low-income families from some of Greater Boston's poorest communities, including Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, Jamaica Plain, South Boston, and the South End. Recent census data for these neighborhoods shows that: 

  • 68 percent of the population lives below 100 percent of the poverty level and nearly all live below 200 percent of the poverty level. 
  • 55 percent of patients are African American, 24 percent are Hispanic, and 10 percent are Asian (includes Asian Indian and Middle Eastern). 
  • African Americans are at much higher risk of infant mortality than other ethnic groups, due in part to poor nutritional status of mothers and babies. 

The Grow Clinic's intensive efforts to educate and reach out to community health centers have resulted in earlier intervention for FTT children, thus greatly increasing their chances of getting better and reducing the risk of hospitalization. 

The children in the Grow Clinic range from moderately to severely malnourished. Because malnutrition is both a medical problem and a social/economic condition, the clinic takes a multidisciplinary approach to the care of FTT children and their families. This approach recognizes that there’s a relationship between a safe and secure family environment and the child's well-being. 

Children’s HealthWatch is the outreach and research arm of the Grow Clinic. Children’s HealthWatch identifies the need for additional services for children in the pediatric emergency room with food insecurity and previously identified FTT and monitors the impact of public policy on the health of children ages zero to three.