Frequently Asked Questions

Wait times can vary widely from location to location. Our team makes every effort to minimize delays while also booking your first appointment close to when age-appropriate programming is offered. This could mean a possible delay between referral and when a family is first contacted. If you have questions about your child’s referral, please contact the program location where you were referred.

Generation Health Clinic accepts referrals for all children/teens between 6 and 17 who meet our eligibility criteria. As part of our assessment, we will determine if our program will fit your child’s unique needs. If our program is not the best option for your child’s needs, we will work with you to find alternative resources and supports.

Generation Health Clinic accepts referrals from physicians and nurse practitioners. If you do not currently have a primary care provider, we may accept a referral from a physician at a walk-in clinic if the referring provider can provide follow-up and continuity of care. If you are looking for a primary care provider, sign up here to be matched with a family doctor or nurse practitioner in your area: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-connect-registry#getdoctorornp

Your family may be able to participate in a virtual program if you don’t live near one of the program locations. You may still be required to attend some of your appointments in person. Virtual appointments and group programs are available for Vancouver Island families through the BC Children’s Hospital Virtual English program. Virtual group programs are available to anyone living in the Interior Health Region. Virtual group programs may be available through Fraser Health, based on capacity, interest and needs.

Only the child/teen referred to Generation Health Clinic will receive a comprehensive assessment with the clinical team. Appointments with the clinical team and weekly group sessions are dedicated to the child/teen referred to the program and their parent/caregiver. However, siblings and other family members are welcome and encouraged to attend the weekly Family Fun Activity sessions led by the exercise specialist and to participate in the strategies learned during the weekly group sessions as part of making healthy living changes together as a family.

Generation Health Clinic is not a diet or weight loss program. Families are supported in making healthy living changes by focusing on active living, family connection, mental health, healthy eating, screen time, and sleep. Menu plans or strict diets are not part of our program’s approach.

A child’s mental health is an important part of healthy living. Our mental health professional completes a comprehensive assessment to evaluate your child’s psychosocial well-being. As part of this assessment, they screen for emotional concerns, disordered eating behaviours, poor body image, and low self-esteem. They also assess whether your child and family are prepared to start making healthy living changes or participate in group programming.

We are not a mental health program. Our mental health professional (Registered Psychologist, Registered Social Worker, or Clinical Counsellor) will meet with your child at the initial assessment appointment to complete a psychosocial assessment. This will assist in identifying mental health concerns that may impact participation in our program. We can offer recommendations and guidance if your child needs further diagnosis, assessment, or community mental health resources. It is important to note that our mental health professionals do not provide psychoeducational assessments; typically, these are provided through schools or private pay clinics.

Once your family has completed the 10-week group program, you are welcome to attend another group as long as

1. your child still meets the eligibility criteria, and
2. there is space available

If it has been more than a year since your child’s last group, we will complete a brief assessment to understand how things have been going for your family since we last saw you.

Check out the program comparison table on the Generation Health landing page and answer a few questions in the wayfinding tool to see which program would be a good fit for your family.

Wait times can vary widely from location to location. Our team makes every effort to minimize delays while booking the first appointment close to when age-appropriate group program is offered. In the interim, if you have any concerns regarding severe complications for your patient (e.g., type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea), please initiate the appropriate investigations or referrals while your patient is waiting for their intake appointment with our program team. If your patient’s medical status changes, please send us any updates.

Our interdisciplinary team consists of physicians, registered dietitians, and mental health professionals (which may include a Registered Psychologist, Registered Social Worker, or Clinical Counsellor). Our team will meet with your patient and their family during the initial intake appointment for a comprehensive medical, psychosocial, nutrition, and healthy living assessment. In collaboration with your patient and their family, we will develop an individualized care plan, which may include an invitation to participate in our 10-week group healthy living program. We may also refer to appropriate specialists or community resources when indicated.

Our interdisciplinary team will summarize our assessment and recommendations after seeing your patient, send interim reports as needed, and prepare a discharge report with recommendations for follow-up. We arrange investigations and referrals and collaborate with community providers when indicated. We are available for consults as needed.

You could help by ensuring your patient/family knows as much about our program as possible. Families may be directed to the Generation Health Clinic webpage to learn more about the program, what to expect, and to access healthy living resources.

While each family’s journey through the program is unique, families are typically enrolled in Generation Health Clinic from several months to a year, with some post-program support offered. We provide a discharge report with recommendations for follow-up to ensure continuity of care for your patients. We do not provide long-term follow-up. However, our team is available for consults as needed. After discharge, we welcome re-referral if your patient continues to meet eligibility criteria.

The goal of our short-term program is to improve the physical, metabolic, and emotional health of the child/teen and to reduce their risk of chronic disease. This is achieved by supporting healthy living changes within the family. Past evaluations of our program show changes in the following:

• increase in physical activity and vegetable intake
• decrease in sedentary behaviour, recreational screen time, sugary drink consumption, processed foods, and/or packaged meals
• reduction in BMI z-score and fasting insulin
• improvement in physical health, psychosocial health, self-concept scores, anxiety scores, and total quality of life scores

Weight loss is not an expected program outcome. Rather, Generation Health Clinic helps support a gradual return to healthy growth trajectories.