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| Ellen Lawton (right front) and the Medical-Legal Partnership team |
The Medical-Legal Partnership, a medical-legal collaboration started at Boston Medical Center in 1993, has been disseminated to nearly 40 pediatric centers nationally. This unique program partners pediatricians and lawyers. The program consists of six attorneys, four administrative/paralegal support staff, five part-time physicians, and a research coordinator. They address the legal problems faced by many low-income families that impact the health of pediatric patients. The Partnership provides families with legal assistance, educates the healthcare community about families' legal rights, and engages in efforts to improve the systems that serve vulnerable children and families. The Partnership clinics provide free legal assistance in areas such as custody, housing, utilities, educational advocacy and food security to families whose children are patients at Boston Medical Center, or at many of the BMC-affiliated community health centers. Over the last year, a Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic was established at Children's Hospital as well. The attorneys also serve as a valuable resource to all residents in the BCRP to answer questions and trouble-shoot patient legal problems faced by their patients.
The unique Advocacy Training Curriculum developed by the Partnership provides our housestaff with specific training in topics such as disability services, family law, health insurance, housing, hunger and nutrition, and immigration services. Staff members are involved in training residents through many of the BMC core rotations and are regular participants at Grand Rounds and Case of the Week.
Residents may select elective experiences with the Program and some residents work with the Partnership during their Academic Development Block.
The program is described in more detail in recent articles in the Boston Globe and Wall Street Journal.
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