UPMC Children’s expands rehab services in Washington, McMurray
Broadens access to pediatric care resources
From the moment Jacob Walker was born, his parents, John and Ashley Bennett of Houston, knew his life would bring challenges – but that it would also be filled with love, joy and hope.
Jacob, 7, was born with Dandy-Walker malformation, a rare, congenital brain defect, and Down syndrome.
“Like many parents receiving unexpected news about their child, we found ourselves entering a world we never anticipated. There were moments of fear, grief, uncertainty and overwhelming questions about our future and what it would hold,” Ashley Bennett said.
When Jacob was 9 months old, Bennett walked into UPMC Children’s Rehabilitation Therapies in search of additional support for her son, who was struggling to meet milestones.
Jake and the family got that support. And, more importantly, Bennett said, they received hope.
“What I remember most about those first visits was not just the therapies or the evaluations, it was the feeling we were no longer alone. We were instantly enveloped by a team that looked at our son with hope and confidence and simply said, ‘We’re going to help him reach his goals,'” said Bennett.
Those words mattered, she said, “because when you’re a parent navigating diagnoses and specialists and uncertainty, you desperately need people who can see possibility when you can’t see it yourself. And yet that’s exactly what this team has been to us and our family for the past seven years.”
On Wednesday, Jake and his family attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Washington location of UPMC Children’s Rehabilitation Therapies, which was celebrating the expansion of its outpatient therapy network.
Jake – with his trademark smile that does, indeed, light up a room – sporting a bow tie and orange-and-red Nikes, cut the ribbon with a pair of oversized purple scissors as his siblings, Avalyn, 11, and Jeb, 8, other family members, and UPMC staff surrounded him and cheered him on.
Starting June 1, the UPMC Children’s Rehabilitation Therapies locations on North Avenue in Washington and Waterdam Plaza Drive in McMurray will formally operate as part of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, providing families in Washington County and surrounding areas access to one of the nation’s top-ranked children’s hospitals.
“This is an exciting milestone for the families we serve across Washington County,” said Diane Hupp, president, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. “By bringing these locations fully into UPMC Children’s Rehabilitation Therapies, we are strengthening the connections to our nationally ranked pediatric specialty care while ensuring children and families can continue to receive high-quality, compassionate care close to home.”
The transition will not impact patient access or continuity of care. Families will continue to see the same therapists, at the same locations, with the added benefit of access to expanded pediatric specialty resources.
UPMC Children’s has expanded its services in the Washington and Greene county areas in order to connect its specialists with its community-based care sites. UPMC Children’s Express Care and UPMC Children’s Specialty Care, which includes physical medicine and rehabilitation, provide services locally. UPMC Washington and UPMC Greene provide local emergency department care backed by UPMC Children’s pediatric specialists.
“Families in our community rely on these services every day, and this transition reinforces our shared commitment to meeting their needs,” said Brook Ward, president of UPMC Washington and UPMC Greene, noting the rehab centers have been in operation for more than 25 years. “Through our partnership with UPMC Children’s, we are enhancing access to specialized care and bringing even greater resources and expertise to the patients and families we serve locally.”
Jake has received physical, occupational and speech therapy at UPMC Children’s Rehab Therapies. Bennett said a neurodevelopmentalist at UPMC Children’s Hospital recently marveled at the progress he has made.
“As a family of faith, we thank God daily for the miracle of Jake’s life, but I also stand here today to fully recognize that Jake’s progress and quality of life has been profoundly affected and shaped by the therapists at Children’s Therapy Center,” said Bennett. “Week after week, milestone after milestone, challenge after challenge, and through every season, his team walked alongside us.”
Bennett said the ribbon cutting “is about more than a beautiful building or expanded services.”
“It represents hope: hope for parents receiving difficult news, hope for children working tirelessly to overcome obstacles, hope for families searching for support close to home, hope that every child, regardless of diagnosis or disability, can be seen for who they are and all they are capable of becoming,” she said. “To the therapists, staff, donors and leaders who made this day possible, thank you. Thank you for believing in children like our Jake and for creating a place where miracles often look like hard work, persistence, patience, and cheerleaders who never give up on your child.”