Pediatric Rehabilitation | Children's Hospital Michigan

The Children's Hospital of Michigan offers a full complement of therapy services in a 12-bed inpatient unit with four convenient outpatient locations for children and adolescents recovering from injury or illness. Therapists are pediatric rehabilitation specialists including team members certified in NDT (Neurodevelopment Treatment) and SIPT (Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests). The rehabilitation centers are kid-friendly and the therapy staff is skilled in working with children in a therapeutic milieu.

The primary focus of the inpatient program is to help each child improve their function and prepare them for return to home, school and the community. Based on the child's needs, the rehabilitation program focuses on mobility, activities of daily living, communication, memory and social interaction. When necessary, adaptive equipment is used to help each child achieve as much function as possible. The interdisciplinary team is experienced in the complexities of pediatric disability and rehabilitation.

The inpatient program admits children with neurological (traumatic and non-traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and cerebral vascular accident), congenital and orthopedic conditions. Children with extensive burns and other disabling conditions are also candidates for admission to the unit.

Services and Innovations

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) staff work with many departments within the hospital to generate a rehabilitation plan for our patients. Available services include:

Augmentative communication
Intrathecal Baclofen intervention
Nutrition programs
Occupational therapy
Physical therapy
Prosthetics/orthotics
Social work
Speech pathology

Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit:

Physicians provide inpatient consultations, and the PM&R Division runs the inpatient rehabilitation unit, a 14-bed Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), demonstrating dedication to accountability and compliance with internationally accepted standards of excellence in pediatric rehabilitation . The Division works closely with an interprofessional team including physical, occupational, and recreation therapists, speech and language pathologists, rehabilitation nurses, orthotists, prosthetists, psychologists and neuropsychologists, care managers, social workers, and dietitians, and pharmacists to provide comprehensive patient care. They also collaborate with cardiovascular surgery, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedics, genetics, hematology, oncology, trauma, and pediatrics on a regular basis.

The physicians on staff provide evaluations and continuity of care to patients in the outpatient clinic setting including:

Myelomeningocele/Spinal cord injury clinic:

The Myelomeningocele Care Center at the Children's Hospital of Michigan DMC is the only program of its kind in Metropolitan Detroit. It has provided multidisciplinary care to children with spina bifida, spinal cord birth defects, spinal cord injuries, spinal cord tumors and infections for more than 30 years. The center offers a one-stop medical care solution for children with multiple neurosurgical, urologic, orthopedic and rehabilitative health-related issues.

Additional clinic support services include nutrition, wound, ostomy, continence nursing, psychology, physical therapy, occupational therapy and social work as well as orthotic and equipment needs. Myelomeningocele Care Center staff take a family-centered care approach to treatment, because family has the greatest influence on child health and development. A family-centered discussion of the child takes place during annual multidisciplinary evaluations.

Muscular Dystrophy Clinic:

The Division works in conjunction with the Neurology Department at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan which is nationally known for research, diagnosis and treatment of muscular diseases in children including muscular dystrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and spinal muscular atrophy. Patients have access to innovative treatments and medications through clinical trials. Working in conjunction with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Children’s Hospital of Michigan offers a multidisciplinary muscular dystrophy clinic in Detroit. Team members include a PM&R physician, neurologist, pulmonologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, respiratory therapist, social worker, orthotist and equipment vendor.

Intrathecal Baclofen Pump Program:

The Division works with the Neurosurgery group in the placement and management of intrathecal baclofen ( ITB) pump for treatment of severe spasticity. The Children’s Hospital of Michigan has the largest pediatric pump population in Metro Detroit. Patients have a pump trial done to see if they are a candidate for the ITB pump. If they are, they are sent to Neurosurgery for evaluation and subsequent pump placement. They are then either admitted for inpatient rehabilitation following placement for aggressive pump management or return for frequent visits to maximize the pump's ability to control the spasticity.

Alcohol Block Clinic:

The Alcohol Block Clinic is a clinic specifically designed as an adjunct way to treat spasticity. It is believed to be the only one in the Metro Detroit area where patients are placed under anesthesia to obtain spasticity control of the obturator nerve. In conjunction, botox injections can also be performed in smaller muscle groups at the same time under anesthesia- thus eliminating the trauma to the child of receiving additional injections while awake.

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Services

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