The Potocsnak Family Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine offers specialized primary care and programs, ensuring that patients are provided with comprehensive and exemplary care. Below is a list of our innovative and expert-lead programs.
The Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine’s behavioral health team provides ongoing therapeutic services, psychological assessment, psychotherapy and select sub-specialty services and programs. Learn more.
Lurie Children’s Adolescent Primary Care Program provides holistic and comprehensive primary care to patients starting at 12 years old. Established patients are followed by our specialists until their 25th birthday. Learn more.
Lurie Children's Gender & Sex Development Program specialists provide compassionate and affirming care for children, adolescents (up to age 25) and their families seeking support related to gender identity development. Learn more.
Lurie Children's certified Sexual Health Educators provide affirming on-site HIV & STI screening and health education. Access or referrals to treatment available for sexual heath needs. Learn more.
Specialists within the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine can provide access to mental health wellness within a primary care setting. Providers can treat ADHD, minor depression and anxiety, and more within the comfort of primary care. Learn more.
The Substance Use and Prevention Program (SUPP) offers evaluation and treatment for substance use concerns by a multidisciplinary team of pediatricians and behavioral health providers in an outpatient setting. Learn more.
The Potocsnak Family Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine provides comprehensive care to promote positive health outcomes for youth in and around Chicago. Our services are structured to support all youth, specializing in reaching young people who often experience barriers to accessing services. We believe in a holistic model of care, recognizing that supporting the health of youth must extend beyond our clinical spaces and into the community. Community Programs and Initiatives collaborates closely with community members and organizations to promote healthy and inclusive spaces for youth across the Chicago region.
The TransMentor Program, the first of its kind in the country, pairs , gender non-binary, gender expansive and gender questioning youth ages 12-20 with trans and gender expansive adults. TransMentor uses a youth-centric approach that focuses on the needs of mentees, designing the program around their goals and crafting mentor trainings and support to meet their unique needs.
For more information about the program or to become a mentee or mentor, please contact us at transmentor@luriechildrens.org or visit the TransMentor page.
Our Sexuality Education Program supports students, parent/guardians, and school staff by facilitating thoughtful, culturally responsive, and LGBTQ+ inclusive conversations related to sexual health. Our specially trained staff support conversations and educational sessions related to relationships, social emotional development, and their bodies.
Sessions offered by our team include:
For more information on programming and fees, please reach out to Dawn Ravine, Sexuality Education Program Coordinator at dravine@luriechildrens.org or visit the Sexuality Education Program page.
Our staff facilitate interactive and engaging education and outreach sessions that are designed to improve awareness and understanding of issues facing adolescents and young adults today.
Sessions include but are not limited to:
We’ve conducted hundreds of trainings, reaching over 2,000 attendees at schools, non-profit organizations, businesses, local clinics and health centers, faith-based organizations, and professional conferences.
Staff cater trainings and educational programs to fit the unique needs of individual organizations, businesses and/or schools. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Jennifer Leininger at Jleininger@luriechildrens.org or visit the Trainings & Education page.
Our team provides a variety of hands-on supports for LGBTQ+ inclusion and creating welcoming and affirming gender inclusive environments, inclucing assistance with the implementation of best practices for LGBTQ+ and gender inclusion, support administrative policies and procedures, support with developing/implementing Gender Support Plans, and individualized advocacy and support for LGBTQ+ students and staff. Click here for more information
If you are interested in bringing Substance Use Prevention Education to your organization, please contact Okwuchi Onwubu at suppeducation@luriechildrens.org
Naloxone is a prescription medicine that can temporarily stop the effect of an opioid overdose and help a person start breathing again. We provide free Naloxone (including training on how to use it). These trainings are offered in partnership with community organizations and other nonprofit organizations and can be facilitated via our Mobile Health Unit or onsite at the community agency.
If you are interested in bringing Naloxone training/distribution to your community, please contact Jennifer Leininger at JLeininger@luriechildrens.org.
Youth Substance Use Prevention Coalition (formerly Preventing Alcohol Abuse in Chicago Teens (PAACT) is a multi-agency coalition of community-based organizations, government agencies and stakeholders from across the city. Convened by Lurie Children’s, SUPC works to prevent youth substance use in Chicago. SUPC also convenes a Youth Advisory Board in collaboration with Voices of Chicago Youth in Education (VOYCE) to ensure that the work of the coalition remains centered on the needs and experiences of young people in Chicago. SUPC has implemented city-wide tactics including a communications and community engagement campaign is targeted to youth and parents/caregivers (IGotThis) with the goals of increase awareness of the potential harmful effects and consequences of alcohol consumption for underage drinkers and provide support in decreasing young people's perception of permissive family norms with regard to underage alcohol use.
If you or your organization is interested in becoming involved in SUPC, please contact Jennifer Leininger at JLeininger@luriechildrens.org.
With the goal of reducing youth substance use and promoting health and wellness in the city of Chicago, SUPC’s approach includes:
There are many ways and opportunities to get involved with SUPC. For more information, email supc@luriechildrens.org.
In 2018 Preventing Alcohol Abuse in Chicago Teens (PAACT) commissioned Voices of Youth In Chicago Education (VOYCE) to research ways to improve school discipline policies related to alcohol use. In the summer of 2018, VOYCE engaged in a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project where youth researchers critically examined the cause of underage drinking and developed recommendations to improve school discipline policies. Please see their recently released report, Open Bottles Broken Policies, which highlights their findings and proposed solutions for addressing underage drinking in Chicago. This report helped guide the school policy work that was initially spearheaded by PAACT, and later by SUPC in conjunction with VOYCE and Chicago Public Schools.
The division provides free & confidential HIV/STI screening and safer sex counseling for anyone age 12-24. Our certified counselors offer these testing and counseling sessions in our offices and at community spaces/events. If you’re interested in making an appointment for testing or having us provide free HIV/STI screening at an event at your school, business, or community space, please contact Sal Salam at ssalam@luriechildrens.org or visit the HIV/STI Screening page.
Lurie Children’s Hospital Potocsnak Family Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine in collaboration with Haymarket Center will implement Connect for Youth (C4Y), a citywide, trauma-informed, integrated substance use and HIV prevention strategy for high-risk Black and Latinx youth ages 16–25 in Chicago.
