Helen Hayes: Providing Dynamic Pediatric Rehab to Rockland

This past October, Haverstraw’s Helen Hayes Hospital opened their newly updated Outpatient Pediatric Reha- bilitation Suite. This project was created through a collaborative effort from therapists and doctors to provide cutting edge, personalized care through multi-sensory tools, dynamic surfaces, and a variety of rooms for both cognitive and physical therapy. The Rehab Suite provides a space for patients with developmental, congenital, and post injury conditions to find the intrinsic motivation to reach their potential.

During the renovation, Helen Hayes strove to create a dynamic space that would be as unique as the pediatric patients that would utilize it. With ages ranging from infants to teens, this was no simple task. In order to accommodate this range of ages, the team chose to create smaller rooms within the suite, offering the option for a more expansive therapy space, as well as the option of several smaller rooms for children who may thrive in a more contained and calm setting.

“We wanted to create a space where all kids would feel safe to explore and take risks to get better. We wanted to motivate them so that they would push themselves to reach their own goals,” said Carrie Beebe, a physical therapist in the Pediatric Rehabilitation Program who has specialized in Pediatric Physical Therapy for over 20 years.

When deciding on the renovations, Beebe recalled how occupational, speech and physical therapists got together to discuss the variety of patients they worked with and what those patients would benefit from the most. They then created a “wish list” for these items.

One of the big benefits from this wish list that made its way into the new Rehab Suite was a matting system for the floor. “It has so much cushioning; it absorbs weight and pressure in a way that makes everything lower impact and more welcoming.”

Not only has the mat made the space more inviting, but the sheer variety of options for young patients has noticeably increased their excitement and engagement. This excitement of young patients is crucial to their success. “I’m seeing them find their own internal motivation for healing and getting better,” said Beebe.

Part of Helen Hayes’ dedication to individualization of care are those more intimate rooms within the Rehab Suite. “You have to meet the child where they’re ready to begin. For some kids, that means beginning through play. For other kids, they want to sit and talk with me in a more quiet space,” said Beebe.

Some of the youngest patients will find themselves in one of these more individualized rooms titled the Infant Room, which is adorned with cozy cushions and bright colors. Up past a foam step and slide lies a reward for those brave patients willing to climb up – an open play space waits to engage them in sensorial experiences, utilizing manipulatives such as chimes, wheels and mirrors. Following the Infant Room is the Cognitive room, which focuses on patients’ cognitive development through nov- el experiences. One of Beebe’s favorite activities in this room is to utilize the vertical magnetic wall and encourage young patients to get creative with animal magnets. This helps to develop the child’s core and legs in a fun and imaginative way. “By engaging their minds, they end up moving their body,” said Beebe.

For patients growing out of the cognitive room, or for those that may find earning points especially rewarding, the Gaming Room can be especially motivating. In this room, the patients are able to undergo their physical therapy in a video game-esque style, performing physical activities that affect the results of the game. This high tech involvement is just another tool to help engage the minds of these young patients, and inspire the intrinsic motivation that is so vital to growth and development.

For the oldest of the pediatric patients, Helen Hayes also offers a separate space with appropriately sized tables and chairs, as well as an air hockey table and an abundance of games better fit for engaging a teen.

Each of these more private rooms is equipped with two doors, which allows patients to enter a quiet room without necessitating a walk through one of the two large, open therapy rooms.

The two larger spaces included in the suite are the Sensory Room and the large Open Gym. The Sensory Room provides a multitude of surfaces, swings, a crash pad and extensive padding, allowing for a supportive environment that encourages exploration as children work to achieve their rehab goals. The open gym is a wonderland consisting of a rock climbing wall, a twisting jungle gym, a basketball hoop, balance beams and more that engage the patient’s bodies and mind in dynamic ways. This larger space provides the patients and their therapists with enough room to develop coordination through larger-scale activities like walking, running or biking, as well as the space to utilize different assistive devices.

The Rehab Suite offers assistive technology, such as standers that help assist children who would otherwise be unable to stand independently. “[The standers] give support to bear weight through their feet and up into their joints, which helps the developing body develop the joints. Weight bearing is vital to the developing body,” says Beebe. The Suite also provides adaptive biking equipment that comes complete with a menagerie of harnesses, padding, seat belts, and an ability to adjust for different grips. This provides every child with the opportunity to enjoy a bicycle.

Beebe and Szysh, an Occupational Therapist at Helen Hayes who assisted in this sit down with the RCT, have big plans for the future. They hope to expand the Sensory Room and the large Open Gym area even more to continue benefitting their patients, but their biggest hope is to reach more families who have struggled with finding the right fit for their children’s needs and to help these children achieve and exceed their dreams.

Helen Hayes also boasts a Prosthetics and Orthotics department on site, alongside a Seating and Mobility clinic. These departments customize adaptive technology to pediatric patient’s bodies to equip them for anything. Several of the therapists are certified car seat installers, and can ensure that all children are properly seated.

Helen Hayes does accept insurance, and they encourage caregivers who have been struggling to find pediatric physical therapy and rehabilitation to inquire about their services at 845-786-4000, or visit them at 51 – 55 North Route 9W, West Haverstraw NY 10993.