Boyer Children’s Clinic is pleased to announce the opening of a new south Seattle therapy facility located at the Seattle Children’s PlayGarden at Coleman Field in the Rainier Valley.

The new space will allow Boyer to expand its capacity to serve up to 10% more children a year by offering additional occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech/language therapy services at the site. Boyer therapists began meeting with clients in the new space on January 3, 2011.

Boyer and its Board of Directors decided to open the satellite in response to studies Boyer conducted showing a large number of underserved children living in south Seattle.  Over the last five years, Boyer has conducted studies comparing the incidences of developmental delay in the community and the number of children receiving services and determined as many as 50% of the eligible children in some areas in the south end of Seattle are not being referred to Boyer for services.

In response to this information, Boyer began increased outreach efforts in the communities in south Seattle.  Those efforts paid off, bringing a 20% increase in the number of children served to the clinic annually in 2007 and 2008.  In 2010, Boyer continues to set records for the number of children served and the number of therapy hours delivered.  “We are near to the capacity we can serve at our Montlake site, so it makes sense to open a site that is closer to many who we already serve and who will need our services in the future,” said Executive Director Michael Stewart.

The PlayGarden site will improve accessibility for families living in the surrounding neighborhoods and provide a warm, park-like environment for Boyer clients to receive their therapy services.  Boyer staff will rent 600 square feet from the PlayGarden and will have access to the outside play areas, which have been designed specifically to accomodate children of all ages and abilities.

“It’s an extremely family friendly environment and we’re very happy to be able to bring Boyer families there for services.  We’re grateful to PlayGarden Executive Director Liz Bullard and the PlayGarden Board of Directors for working with us to make this satellite possible,” said Stewart.

Boyer will evaluate the new site’s effectiveness based upon the usage made by the site by current and new families, the connections the location helps Boyer build with the surrounding community, and the impact seen on the rates of referrals for children in the south end.

For more information contact
Michael K. Stewart, Executive Director
206-325-8477
mike.stewart@boyercc.org
www.boyercc.org.