Inpatient Services
Inpatient Rehabilitation
The Hospital at The Children’s Institute offers inpatient pediatric rehabilitation services for young people who have suffered brain injury or spinal cord injury — trauma victims of life-threatening proportion, children recovering from major surgery, long-term illness or children battling cancer. Other patients may be managing chronic illnesses such as diabetes and Prader-Willi Syndrome. Each child and his family find answers through individualized programs of recovery.
Everything we do is focused on the needs of the individual child. Each child who comes here has an agenda and each family, a single goal — progress. And while each receives the individual attention so critical to recovery, all will benefit from our experience in working with children — experience that is unsurpassed.
Each child’s rehabilitation program is managed by a skilled team of physicians, pediatricians and physiatrists, along with other medical specialists who ensure that all of the child’s needs are addressed.
The goal of our pediatric rehabilitation nursing staff is to improve the quality of life for children, adolescents and young adults by providing a range of nursing care. Emotional support, family training and education are critical to this care.
Our staff on the pediatric unit believes that a major interruption in the child's life may affect developmental progress. We encourage family involvement as a key component in a young person's development.
In conjunction with the other members of our rehabilitation team, our pediatric rehabilitation nursing staff:
- stabilizes the primary problem(s)
- prevents secondary complications
- works with other team members to set realistic goals
- emphasizes functional independence
- carries out the physician’s orders
- works with the family to promote understanding and support
- Other members of our treatment team may include:
- Educational Services
- Nutrition Services
- Occupational Therapy
- Physical Therapy
- Psychology Services
- Recreational Therapy
- Speech/Language Pathology
Care Coordination
A case manager is assigned to each child and family. The case manager coordinates care and serves as the liaison to the treatment team, ensuring family or caregivers are continuously involved in the treatment planning and decision making for their child.
The process of discharge planning begins at the time of admission. The case manager gathers background information from the family about the services the child is currently receiving, school the child attends, special education services the child may receive at school, agencies in the community that are involved and any special organizations or vendors the child's insurance company or HMO may use. This is all part of the initial information-gathering process that will eventually have an impact on the child's discharge plan.
Working closely with a social worker, the child’s case manager coordinates the team's recommendations and assists in organizing the services and equipment needed to continue rehabilitation after leaving The Hospital. Special family needs and problems identified during the treatment process are taken into consideration as the discharge plan develops.
The discharge plan may include visits back to the child's physiatrist at The Hospital, the child's primary care physician and other specialists as necessary.
For more information regarding inpatient services, contact 412.420.2113 or 412.420.2115. You also can download our Patient & Family Handboook.
Austin’s Playroom
This day room provides a bright, fun-filled environment where children engage in structured and supervised developmental play as a complement to the medical and therapy services they receive during their inpatient stay. Thanks to a generous donation from The Mario Lemieux Foundation, the day room — called Austin’s Playroom — is filled with state-of-the-art technology and an array of toys and games for children of all ages.
In addition to the social and recreation events scheduled within the hospital, monthly therapeutic outings are also scheduled to re-integrate children into the community. Mall outings, baseball games, trips to the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium are just a few of these fun, therapeutic events.
