Akron Children’s Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) Clinic Makes Care Easier for Patients

Sara Taggart’s calendar used to be dotted with medical appointments for her 3-year-old daughter Annie, who suffers from brittle bone disease. And each appointment came with its own stresses – getting medical information from one specialist to another, finding each doctor’s office, and packing enough toys to entertain both Annie and her two older brothers, Troy and Ty, for the 3-hour roundtrip car ride.

But that was before Akron Children’s opened a clinic for children with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) in 2015.

“Now I can get all of Annie’s appointments done in one day,” said Sara. “You can really see the team approach to caring for Annie. Now, everybody comes to you. I love that the hospital brought all of this together.”

Frank Artinian, MD, co-director of the clinic, understands the difficulties families whose children have this rare disease face – and the benefits of having one place for their children to receive all their care.

“Bringing all of the necessary specialists together to treat children with OI isn’t just a matter of convenience,” said Dr. Artinian. “It’s a matter of helping them have better outcomes through a closely coordinated treatment approach.”

For the Taggarts, the OI clinic also means less time spent at the hospital and more family time.

“Annie loves doing whatever her brothers are doing,” said her mom. “Trying to stop her is virtually impossible. She’s so full of spunk and life. Her personality is bigger than she is.”