Maine Developmental Disabilities Council

Transitions to Adult Healthcare

The Council has been working for the last few years on raising awareness around the difficulties that young people with developmental disabilities face when moving into the adult healthcare system.

In 2018, MDDC contracted with the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to fund surveys and focus group to study pediatricians’ understandings of how to successfully transition young adults with DD into adult healthcare systems. MDDC was also asked to present on the issue of transitioning to adult healthcare to 39 medical practitioners and provide information for 165 more. Directly as a result of MDDC efforts Maine CDC invested in a quality improvement healthcare firm to convene a Transitions of Care planning committee, develop measures for future quality improvement work, & develop a small pilot around care transitions.