Northwest Community opens Arlington Hts. pediatric physical rehab clinic
Northwest Community Healthcare opened a new pediatric physical rehabilitation facility in Arlington Heights this week to serve patients under 18 years old with physical or learning disabilities and injuries, officials said.
The clinic opened Monday at 1590 N. Arlington Heights Road, and is the seventh outpatient facility for NCH. The opening marks the first in several moves this year to provide more rehabilitation care, said Jerry Bragg, director of physical rehabilitation.
A physical therapist, an occupational therapist and a speech pathologist will work at the clinic, giving one-on-one rehab to patients suffering with anything from a lisp to developmental disorders to sports-related injuries and more, Bragg said.
The clinic is housed in a building that also has NCH Medical Group physicians. The space previously held an adult rehabilitation clinic that moved to Mount Prospect last March.
The space has been redone to suit younger patients with brighter colors, welcoming decorations and toys and tools that will make therapy engaging and helpful for kids, Bragg said.
"The goal with pediatric therapy is you want to make it as fun as possible," he said. "It's that art of being able to mix in the therapeutic value with play activities to make it an enjoyable experience for them."
The clinic also fills a gap in NCH's care timeline, Bragg said.
"We saw babies in our NICU (Neonatal intensive care unit) and we might have had a follow-up, but we weren't able to offer any therapy services for children 12 years or younger," Bragg said. The other Northwest Community Healthcare outpatient facilities treat patients 13 years and older. "We often got phone calls from parents or were approached by physicians, but all we were able to do was refer them elsewhere."
Bragg said the response to the clinic has been enthusiastic so far.
"We are excited and energized to begin the work ahead of us - knowing that this effort will serve our patients and community well," NCH Chief Operating Officer Michael Hartke said. "The new unit will create a continuum of care for NCH's young patients who require outpatient physical rehabilitation."
NCH will be debuting more rehab services later this year.
In September, a 17-bed inpatient physical rehabilitation unit is expected to open at the main Arlington Heights hospital along Central Road. The $3 million unit will take up the entire seventh floor of the original building on the NCH campus, and will include a physical and occupational therapy gym and an activity day room along with individual rooms for patients to recover and get services without leaving the hospital.
"It's really part of an effort for us to complete our system of care so we can meet health care needs of the entire population from birth all the way up," Bragg said.
The newly opened pediatric clinic will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.