AN INDOOR SENSORY GYM, ADAPTED PLAYGROUND, & MORE: New rehab equipment to benefit pediatric patients at Helen Hayes Hospital
February 8, 2016Children with physical and cognitive disabilities, as well as developmental delays, are receiving an expanded level of care at Helen Hayes Hospital due to the recent acquisition of several new pieces of rehabilitative equipment.
The Outpatient Neurological Rehabilitation Center now has a comprehensive sensory gym in addition to its existing pediatric room. The gym includes a rock climbing wall, monkey bars, bikes and other equipment, all designed to care for children two weeks through 16 years of age with diagnoses of stroke, cerebral palsy, amputation, spinal cord injury, concussion, muscular dystrophy and other various disorders. The gym and additional therapeutic entertainment games were purchased using a grant awarded to the Helen Hayes Hospital Foundation by the Starlight/Starbright Foundation Child Life Program.
The Helen Hayes Hospital Foundation also recently received a grant from the Kurz Family Foundation to construct an outdoor accessible playground on the hospital campus. The playground features traditional and specially adapted equipment, including wide spaces and pathways for wheelchair access, special seating and safety rubber surfaces, all modified to accommodate children with disabilities
Additional pediatric services at the rehabilitation hospital include functional electrical stimulation, fitting and fabrication of infant cranial remolding helmets to correct plagiocephaly and assistive technology services including augmentative communication, computer access and wheelchair seating.
“We are extremely pleased to be able to expand our pediatric services thanks to the support of both the Starlight/Starbright and Kurz Family Foundations,” says Jodi Brangaccio, PT, DPT, Coordinator of Outpatient Neurological Rehabilitation. “Our comprehensive pediatric services now enable us to help children with disabilities participate in everyday life, from being able to function in school to playing in their communities.”
Helen Hayes Hospital is a specialty physical rehabilitation hospital offering both inpatient and outpatient medical, nursing and therapeutic care patients need to rebuild their lives following catastrophic injuries, debilitating surgeries and chronic disabling illnesses. Paired with state-of-the-art equipment and technology, this expertise enables patients to move on to active and productive lives and return to work, school and home.
