Dayton Children’s Hospital Starts Screening Families for Social Needs
The welcome packet for families at the health clinic of Dayton (Ohio) Children’s Hospital got a little thicker recently, with the addition of a new survey asking simple questions not about allergies and medications but about daily life at home. Do they have access to nutritious food? What about water and electricity?
The questionnaire is part of a new program, the Family Resource Connection, that screens families for basic social needs, then connects them with resources. The leaders who are behind the program regard it as critical, not just for the children and families whose lives—and health—they expect it to improve, but also for the healthcare system at large amid the industrywide drive to wring better health outcomes from fewer dollars.