The innovative Community Advocacy Program — one of the first in the United States and the first in Ohio — brings on-site legal services to the patients and families served by the Pediatrics Department. The program started in 2003 and is a collaboration between the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland and MetroHealth Medical Center. The program also includes three additional attorneys and a paralegal from the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland on site at the Broadway, Buckeye, McCafferty MetroHealth locations.

Physicians, psychologists, and other health care providers at MetroHealth often find that providing top-quality medical care is not enough to fully address health problems faced by their young patients. Unmet legal needs represent an obstacle neither patients nor health care providers are usually equipped to overcome without the benefit of legal assistance. Whether the issue is a landlord-tenant conflict, unmet special education needs, wrongfully denied government benefits, or unresolved guardianship issues, the Community Advocacy Program is designed to support and serve MetroHealth pediatric patients and providers.

In addition to offering direct legal services, the Community Advocacy Program is available to provide consultation, training, and resources for health care providers and other staff members on a variety of legal issues faced by MetroHealth patients.

Inquiries about the Community Advocacy Program should be directed to on-site attorney Katie Feldman at 216-778-4938 or kfeldman@metrohealth.org.