Welcome to SPARK

Igniting habits that lead to Strong, Positive, Active, Responsible Kids

This clinic is designed to help your child and family reach personalized, healthy lifestyle goals. We strive to provide you with the tools, resources and support you need.

Ready for a Spark?

Contact your child’s primary care provider to request a referral to our clinic.

Our multidisciplinary team will work with you to create a plan specifically for your child and family. We will meet with you monthly to coordinate care and services to help keep you on track.

The key SPARK principles are:

• Strong - Our mission is to help children feel physically and mentally strong by offering support, guidance and education.
• Positive – The benefits of a positive attitude and environment are well documented. We work to foster positivity in children and their families so they can achieve their goals.
• Active – Physical activity is essential to healthy development in children and teens. We provide a safe, fun environment to help kids move more and find activities that work for your lifestyle.
• Responsible – Each family’s responsibility is to help us help their children. We help you set achievable, realistic and agreed-upon goals that easily fit into your family’s lifestyle.
• Kids – We focus on helping children and teens learn new, healthier habits that can last a lifetime.

Weight Management Clinic Areas of Focus - How We Ignite a SPARK

• Medical Care Our clinic providers assess medical conditions your child may have or may develop due to unhealthy weight, such as diabetes, elevated cholesterol or liver conditions. Bariatric surgery may be an option for some children. This requires a medical evaluation by our board certified pediatric surgeon.
• Healthy Eating Our dietitian will work with your child and family on making healthier food choices and building better eating habits. This involves identifying specific nutrition needs and developing a plan of action.
• Physical Activity Our physical therapist will work with your child and family to find ways to increase activity levels and improve strength, balance and flexibility, all of which help promote weight loss and prevent injuries.
• Behavioral Health and Mental Healthcare Our team of mental health providers will coordinate with your child and family to break barriers that might be preventing new habits from taking root. Creating a plan to change and identifying unhealthy habits is an important stepping stone to building a new, healthier lifestyle.

Health and weight changes happen over time. The best way to get there is to make subtle changes in diet, exercise and behavior. What may seem like a small change will help put your family on the path to a healthy future. We follow the four principles listed below to help guide real, positive change.

• We make small, realistic changes.
• We meet your family where you are.
• We set realistic goals.
• We build healthy habits, together

Bariatric Surgery

For some children, bariatric surgery may be an option. This requires a medical evaluation to determine if the child is a candidate for the procedure. Our pediatric weight management team has a board-certified pediatric surgeon experienced in bariatric surgery, and we collaborate with Methodist Hospital Bariatric Clinic.

Refer a Patient

We accept any patient with a BMI at or above the 95th percentile. Please fax the patient’s demographic information, last office visit note, and any lab results (fasting insulin, fasting lipid profile, Hgb Alc, TSH, CMP/Chem 14 results). We will contact the family to schedule their first visit. Our schedulers make 3 attempts to contact the families. If we are unable to reach them, we will send a letter to the home asking them to contact the clinic to schedule.