Steven Mittelman, M.D., Ph.D., shown here with a young patient, directs the Diabetes and Obesity program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
The EMPOWER Weight Management Clinic at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles – dedicated to helping young patients struggling with significant weight issues, and their families – has received $1.5 million from the UniHealth Foundation to help expand clinic hours and community outreach activities.
EMPOWER stands for Energy Management for Personalized Weight Reduction, and the clinic is part of the Diabetes and Obesity program at CHLA. EMPOWER gives patients access to a variety of services at one appointment, where they also receive a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation that can include screening for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity-related liver disease and sleep apnea. The EMPOWER Weight Management Clinic (www.chla.org/EMPOWERclinic) is staffed by specialists in medicine, psychology, nutrition and physical therapy.
“Eating less and exercising more sounds simple, but it isn’t,” says Steven Mittelman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Diabetes and Obesity program. “The EMPOWER program is personalized because each child or adolescent has a unique set of circumstances that brings them to our door. Our team helps patients and families find strategies that will work for them.”
The EMPOWER program also collaborates with community clinics in the Los Angeles area to provide education and help build their capacity to provide quality obesity intervention and diabetes care.
UniHealth Foundation is a non-profit philanthropic organization whose mission is to support and facilitate activities that significantly improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities in Los Angeles and northern Orange County.
