KCRC Acquired Brain Injury Program

 

KCRC provides a comprehensive rehabilitation program for children from birth through 21 years of age with acquired brain injuries.  Children are admitted at various stages of their recovery, including low-response patients being treated with medications to promote arousal and alertness.  At KCRC, each child is assigned a team that follows that child through their stay.  In addition to the various medical professionals, the patient and their families are considered an important part of the team.  Parents and staff work together to determine individualized goals, and families are encouraged to participate in therapies and to stay with their children.

  • Family-Centered Care

Upon admission and once initial assessments are completed, the team meets to share information and to determine goals for the admission.  Progress is assessed continuously and team meetings are held every two weeks to discuss medical issues, to problem solve, to make changes to the program, and to plan for discharge.  Parents are encouraged to attend these meetings and to participate.

  • School Services 

A unique programming feature of KCRC is inclusion of accredited public school services.  School services are provided for children from birth through high school, with sessions held at bedside or in a classroom by Master's level teachers.  KCRC teachers contact the home school for information and assignments which enables children to get credit for lost school time.  They also help children transition back to school following hospitalization.

  • Community Re-entry

Another unique feature at KCRC is our commitment to providing community re-entry opportunities to better prepare children and their families for life beyond the hospital.  This occurs toward the end of their stay.  Patients and families have an opportunity to plan and participate in an outing in the local community under the supervision of a recreational therapist.    

  • Interdisciplinary Team

Members of our interdisciplinary team include, but are not limited to, the following:

Developmental Pediatrician

  • leads the medical team that cares for children's health issues
  • includes a faculty physician and physicians in training (residents and interns)
  • prescribes medications, diets, etc.
  • recommends specialists as needed

Education (Infants through 12th grade)

  • focuses on academic and developmental skills
  • communicates with the child's home school
  • provides learning opportunities and practice of newly learned skills
  • coordinates special education services when appropriate
  • assists with transition back to school after discharge

Neuropsychology

  • assesses cognitive skills and processing
  • assists with family coping

Nursing

  • works closely with doctors and other team members to meet the child's needs
  • monitors vital signs, elimination, food, and fluid intake
  • administers medications

Nutrition

  • assesses growth and nutrition issues
  • works with team to resolve nutrition problems and promote appropriate feeding

Occupational Therapy (OT)

  • focuses on self-care, visual perceptual, and fine motor skills
  • provides self-care training, including techniques to compensate for weakness, and use of adaptive equipment
  • helps preserve and improve joint range of motion of upper extremities to support function
  • addresses balance, posture, and movement in support of performing daily activities
  • provides visual screening
  • addresses handwriting and computer access and provides adaptations as needed
  • focuses on improving thinking skills as they relate to everyday activities

Pediatric Orthopedics

  • acts as a consultant to the pediatrician when broken bones are present
  • assists with movement or posture issues

Physical Therapy (PT)

  • focuses on "gross motor" functioning such as walking, standing, and crawling
  • helps improve and restore mobility skills, such as wheelchair mobility, crawling, walking, and climbing stairs
  • helps improve transfer skills, such as getting into and out of bed, into and out of a wheelchair, standing up, and sitting down safely
  • helps improve balance, coordination, strength, and motor planning as they relate to functional mobility
  • helps preserve and improve joint range of motion of lower extremities

Referral Case Management

  • coordinates inpatient referrals for admission
  • coordinates insurance certification and benefit related activities
  • coordinates and arranges for discharge needs

Social Work

  • provides support to families
  • coordinates team meetings
  • provides information on community resources
  • makes referrals to community agencies

Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)

  • focuses on communication, including both expression and comprehension
  • addresses safety concerns of eating and swallowing
  • addresses cognition, including thinking skills, orientation, attention, memory, organization, problem solving and reasoning

Therapeutic Recreation (TR)

  • helps improve self image, behavior, cognition and coordination through recreation and leisure activities such as adaptive swimming, games, crafts, horticulture, and other social activities
  • addresses future recreation pursuits through leisure education exercises
  • assists with transition back to home through community re-entry outings

Other medical services that may be involved include neuro-ophthalmology, audiology, dentistry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, pain management, and prosthetics and orthotics.

 

Return to KCRC Rehabilitation Page

Return to KCRC Homepage

Return to UVaChildrens Hospital Homepage