Our Impact
The work we do in preventing the suffering of vulnerable children has countless ripple effects, for the entire community, beyond the Amish and Mennonite populations we serve directly.
Measuring Success
How do you measure success? How do you measure the value of reduced suffering in monetary value or in diseases discovered? Truly the impact of our work extends beyond just statistics. However, here are a few to help illustrate the far-reaching impact of the work we do.
General Stats
We envision the Clinic for Special Children as a Medical Home.
2017 Patient Care Stats
Delivering effective and affordable care for children with genetic conditions.
Education & Community Stats
Research & Development Stats
In the fall of 2015, the Clinic received national recognition by Scientific American.
Ted Talk: Decoding Medical Needs
Decoding the unique medical needs of the Amish allows us to have an impact on the individual lives of children and their family, but also impact the broader community as a whole. Our medical director Kevin Strauss illustrates this impact at the 2014 TedX conference held in Lancaster at Franklin & Marshall College.
Press: National News
USA Today, How Nemours took care of Mexican Mennonite teen who speaks only a ‘dead language’. , June 2018
CBS21, Local clinic saving lives, money through DNA testing. , March 2016
FOX43, Lancaster County clinic treats Amish children with genetic diseases. , February 2016
CBS Pittsburgh, Idario Santos & son Vinicius on their book, “Sweet Odyssey,” the journey of son Artur & family with MSUD, Maple Syrup Urine Disease. , November 2017
WGAL, Families travel thousands of miles to Lancaster-area clinic specializing in rare genetic disorders. , August 9, 2017
The Washington Post, Pennsylvania clinic treats genetic disorders in Amish and Mennonite people. , October 21, 2014
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Anything but plain. , October 12, 2014
NBC News - Health, As U.S. struggles with health reform, the Amish go their own way.
Mennonite World Review, Technology Helps Amish Confront Medical Disorders.
Associated Press, Blue light aids ill Mennonite children.
Associated Press, Researchers identify new childhood-onset epilepsy disorder and its genetic cause; finding may also shed light on cause of autism.
The New York Times Magazine, A Doctor for the Future.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Plain people, exotic illnesses.
The New York Times, At gene therapy’s frontier, the Amish build a clinic.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, Clinic a lifeline to children.
The Baltimore Sun, Hopkins doctor fights genetic disorders in Amish country ‘How good it is that he’s here’.
The Wall Street Journal, Amish and Mennonite families spend a Saturday raising a clinic.
Medical World News, Publicity jump-started rural clinic for genetic disorders. , October 1990
The Wall Street Journal, Country doctor: how a physician solved riddle of rare disease in children of Amish.
Press: Magazine Feature Stories
Franklin & Marshall Magazine, Plain Healing. , June 2017
Lancaster Physician, WellSpan Philhaven and Strasburg’s Clinic for Special Children: A partnership responding to the unique needs of plain community families. , Fall 2017
Lancaster Physician, 25 Years of Personalized, Genomic Medicine in Lancaster County. , Fall 2014
Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health, 25 Years of Saving Childrens’ Lives. , fall, 2014
Mental Floss, At the Cross Roads. , October, 2014
Pittsburgh Magazine, 8 Incredible Medical Stories.
HHMI Bulletin, Teaching Genomics, Plainly. , Fall 2012
Nature, Genomics, Plain and Simple.
Franklin & Marshall Magazine, Field of Genes.
Pitt (University of Pittsburgh), Sweet odyssey. , Spring 2006
Smithsonian, Medical Sleuth. , February 2006
Pittsburgh Magazine, Between science and faith. , February 2005
Mosaic (Trinity College), An innovative pediatrician in an insular community. , November 2001
Current Science, Mending genes.
Franklin and Marshall, On The Trail of a Once Deadly Disease. , Autumn 2000
Pennsylvania Medicine, Amish country doctor. , Summer 2000
Fortune, Can Gene Therapy Cure This Child?.
Central Pennsylvania Life, Doctor to the Plain people. , Winter 1998–1999
National Geographic, Secrets of the gene. , October 1999
Time Magazine, Special Issue: Heroes of Medicine. A dark inheritance. , Autumn 1997
Measure (Hewlett-Packard), Keeping the Faith. , March - April 1997
Contemporary Pediatrics, A doctor whose most important teachers are children. , October 1996
Johns Hopkins Magazine, A doctor who’s brought hope to the Plain people of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. , November 1994
Pediatric News, In Amish country, some very satisfying, wonderful work. , December 1993
Reader's Digest, The Doctor Who Conquered a Killer. , July 1991
Saturday Evening Post, Tracking a killer. , June 1991
Harvard Medical Alumni Magazine, Improved prognosis: Clinic raising in Amish country. , Winter 1990 - 1991
Reports
Your gift makes a difference! Each year the Clinic publishes an annual report highlighting our successes, challenges and opportunities. We appreciate the generosity of the many individuals, foundations and organizations that support our mission to serve our special children. Thank you for being part of our journey and inspiring hope in the lives of others.
Help us to continue to provide patients with timely, affordable and effective care!
Our clinic serves as a trusted medical home for families working to prevent and treat genetic illness in their children. Serving predominantly Amish and Mennonite families, the sturdy, timber-framed building was "raised" by the hands of those in the Anabaptist community outside of Strasburg, PA. Inside the clinic is filled with an array of high-tech gene sequencing that allows us to deliver state of the art care in a nurturing environment.