What sets us apart?

The Rehab Services Department at Voorhees Pediatric Facility offers a nurturing and supportive approach to the residents and their family members. Our therapists will be there for the family members every step of the way, as their loved ones learn how to take their first step or first bite, or learn how to maneuver their newly acquired power mobility system. The services offered to our residents are targeted at maximizing the functional potential of each child across all developmental domains, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and dysphagia services. Individually or together, the rehab team will address impairments and/or functional limitations while advancing the child’s strengths. Years of experience are behind the love and commitment in all the services provided by our therapists.

Our staff consists of therapists with various backgrounds and multiple years of experience, well equipped with the knowledge and expertise to handle a wide spectrum of diagnoses in the pediatric setting, especially with the medically fragile population. Continuous training as well as additional professional education/certification and credentialing ensure cutting edge and innovative therapeutic intervention.

Our Seating and Assistive Technology Clinic, managed by our Rehab Technology Coordinator, assists the therapists in providing residents with all their assistive and adaptive equipment needs. Our Rehab Technology Coordinator is highly skilled and very knowledgeable regarding various types of seating and assistive technology equipment. The Coordinator works closely with the therapists in providing our residents with customized equipment  that caters to their specific needs. The expertise extends beyond wheelchairs to include items such as standers, gait trainers, and any adaptive device that can assist our residents in maximizing their independence with their activities of daily living, computer access, environmental control/interaction, and communication.

Additional services within the Rehab Department include the Orthopedic Clinic, coordinated by the Physical Therapy Department,. Here, a board certified orthopedic surgeon from Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) visits the facility on a quarterly basis to evaluate/monitor most of our residents' orthopedic status and to make appropriate recommendations for follow-up or further intervention.

We also have the Splinting Clinic, recently established by the Occupational Therapy Department, where the OT Department staff members get together on a monthly basis to bring in and discuss challenging cases and come up with creative and innovative solutions. This is also geared towards addressing issues pertaining to the residents’ upper extremity orthotic needs within the facility.

VPRS Rehabilitation Services Include:

Physical Therapy

Evaluation and services for:

• Gross motor skills
• Ambulation/gait training and mobility
• Adaptive equipment and assistive devices
• Prescriptive seating and wheelchairs
• Strengthening and endurance
• Balance and coordination
• Lower limb orthotics
• Pre- and post-surgical treatment
• Sports and physical education adaptations
• Staff/family education and training

Speech-Language Pathology Services

Speech & Hearing Services

• Screening/referral: hearing

Evaluations

• Speech-language [developmental]
• Augmentative communication
• Speech valve

Therapeutic Intervention

• Infant stimulation
• Receptive/expressive language development
• Higher level language/cognitive process training
• Augmentative/alternative communication design and training
• Oral-motor skill training
• Speech development
• Articulation/intelligibility training
• Voice/fluency therapy
• Traumatic brain injury intervention
• Aural habilitation/rehabilitation
• Staff/family education and training

Dysphagia Services

Evaluations:

• Clinical dysphagia evaluation
• Clinical dysphagia evaluation with methylene blue dye (specialized evaluation for children with tracheotomies; requires ST/RCP Team)
• Videofluoroscopic swallowing study

Therapeutic Intervention:

• Consultation/feeding program plan
• Direct treatment to maximize function:
• Stage I - Oral aversion, behavioral problems, sensory deficits, oral-motor delay/dysfunction
• Stage II - Pharyngeal level swallowing dysfunction
• Use/training of compensatory strategies and/or mealtime adaptations
• Medical referral for problems identified at the Stage III [esophageal) level
• Staff/family education and training

Occupational Therapy

• Hand function and dexterity
• Fine motor development and handwriting
• Adaptive skills and devices
• Sensory integration
• Self-help/daily life skills
• [i.e., dressing, feeding, etc.)
• Cognitive/academic strategies
• Seating and positioning equipment
• Upper limb splints
• Assistive technology use
• Social coping and competency
• Play and leisure skills
• Pre-vocational/work skills training
• Staff/family education and training

Environmental Assessments

When a child with medical complications prepares to enter a new environment, very often it is not conducive to the child's special needs. For example, halls and doorways may not accommodate wheelchairs, and electrical outlets may not be appropriate or well placed for children requiring ventilators or other technology. VPRS will conduct environmental assessments to assure an easy, safe, and functional transition into a real world environment. We also offer staff/family education and training.

Respiratory Care Services

Our staff of Specialized Pediatric Respiratory Care Professionals (SPRCPs) provides the following:

• Pediatric respiratory assessments
  • Airway management
  • Capnography/pulse oximetry
• Pediatric ventilator management
  • Variable pressure ventilation
  • Volume monitoring
  • Weaning as tolerated
  • Staff/family education and training