Manning Family Children’s opens first ThriveKids Community Clinic, located within the New Orleans East Opportunity Center – expanding access to primary care and mental health services

The new ThriveKids Community Clinic aims to connect children and adolescents to care, close to home.

NEW ORLEANS – Today, Manning Family Children’s celebrated the grand opening of a new clinic, and its first under the ThriveKids umbrella, expanding care into the New Orleans East community. The new ThiveKids Community Clinic, which is embedded within the New Orleans East Opportunity Center, will serve students enrolled in the co-located Educators for Quality Alternatives (EQA) schools, and the broader community.

“The holistic approach of the New Orleans Opportunity Center aligns perfectly with Manning Family Children’s commitment to provide comprehensive support for our most vulnerable children,” said Lucio A. Fragoso, President and CEO of Manning Family Children’s. “By joining forces, we now have the opportunity to work together to change the health of a generation. That starts by making care more accessible and bringing support and resources into our local communities and neighborhoods.”

With appointments offered five days per week from the new ThriveKids Community Clinic, Manning Family Children’s providers Dr. Patrice Evers, Dr. Elizabeth Watkins, and Dr. Kimiyo Williams will offer primary care services, and mental health services will be available from pediatric psychiatrist Dr. Cody Roi and Patrick Riley, LCSW.

“This important expansion of access doesn’t happen without the ongoing commitment of our academic partners from both LSU Health New Orleans and Tulane University School of Medicine,” said Dr. Mark Kline, Chief Medical Officer and Physician-in-Chief at Manning Family Children’s. “This academic, community-based clinic reflects our shared commitment to improve the health and wellbeing of all kids.”

The new clinic also represents an important milestone for the hospital’s ThriveKids program, which just last year provided more than 20,000 mental health counseling sessions for students directly in schools, in partnership with NOLA Public Schools, the New Orleans Health Department, and the Orleans Parish School Board.

“At NOLA Public Schools we believe in, and work to uplift, every child's potential,” said Dr. Fateama Fulmore, NOLA Public Schools Superintendent. “We must work together with linked partners like Manning Family Children’s to nurture the whole child, mind and body. Our partnership with ThriveKids helps make this possible by removing barriers and meeting kids where they are. The opening of the ThriveKids Community Clinic is taking that commitment one important step further today.”

One third of the students enrolled in ThriveKids live in the New Orleans East community, where fifty percent of ThriveKids target schools, where intensive mental health support for students is provided, are located in District E.

“I have long been a champion for increased health services in New Orleans East,” said Councilmember Oliver Thomas, who attended today’s ribbon cutting. “Manning Family Children’s heard that call, and together, we will continue to advocate for even more resources for our kids and families - where they are most needed.”

“The needs of our kids and communities are great, and although we’ve made significant progress, we know our work is never finished,” Fragoso added. “There are still thousands of children and families without access to these critical services, services that should be a basic necessity, not a luxury. Today, we are building upon this commitment with the opening of our very first ThriveKids Community Clinic.”

For 70 years, Manning Family Children’s has proudly served as Louisiana’s only, freestanding, comprehensive children’s hospital with more than 600 pediatric-trained providers and 3,000 employees solely dedicated to the care of kids. In addition to comprehensive services offered at its main campus in New Orleans, Children’s operates a robust network of more than 30 satellite locations, pediatric affiliations across Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and robust and long- community programs designed to meet the health needs of the diverse communities it serves. At the heart of its mission, Manning Family Children’s is committed to delivering expert care for every child, every time – regardless of the family’s ability to pay.

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About Manning Family Children’s: Manning Family Children’s is a 263-bed, non-profit academic pediatric medical center that offers comprehensive healthcare services, including over 40 pediatric specialties, just for children. With more than 600 pediatric providers, Manning Family Children’s offers a comprehensive array of specialized pediatric services in Louisiana and the Gulf South. In addition to its main campus located in New Orleans, Children’s operates a network of specialty clinics across Louisiana, including in Covington, Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Lafayette, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Children’s offers primary care at 17 convenient locations, along with a network of statewide pediatric affiliations. Children’s is a proud member of LCMC Health, a Louisiana-based, not-for-profit hospital system which also includes New Orleans East Hospital, Touro, University Medical Center New Orleans, West Jefferson Medical Center, East Jefferson General Hospital, Lakeview Hospital, and Lakeside Hospital. Learn more at manningchildrens.org.

About the ThriveKids Student Wellness Program: In the fall of 2020, Manning Family Children’s launched ThriveKids, the Student Wellness Project, a multispecialty program intended to increase access to healthcare for kids where they spend most of their time – at school. The program was born out of the hospital's support of schools at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and quickly evolved into a comprehensive health program that bridges the health and education sectors. ThriveKids, now nearly three years into formal programming, aims to improve both academic and health outcomes by getting the right resources to the right kids at the right time. The program helps staff schools with trained medical and mental health professionals, coordinates with schools to provide healthcare to children, and offers ongoing education for school faculty and partners. ThriveKids currently supports 180 campuses across Jefferson and Orleans parishes, consisting of more than 100,000 students combined. NOLA-PS students can enroll in the program online atwww.manningchildrens.org/thrivekids.