2012 Annual Report - Blythedale Children's Hospital

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2012 ANNUAL REPORT Patient Care Setting the standard for how care is delivered to medically fragile children is central to everything we do at Blythedale Children’s Hospital. With more than 120 years of experience, Blythedale is a nationally recognized leader in developing innovative, multidisciplinary inpatient programs. As one of only 19 specialty children’s hospitals in the United States, Blythedale has the combined staff, expertise and resources – including the largest pediatric therapy department in New York State – to provide exceptional comprehensive care for medically complex children and support for their families. Blythedale cares for children with a wide range of complex and often catastrophic medical and rehabilitative conditions, including complex respiratory disease, traumatic brain injury, heart disease, cancer, neuromuscular disorders, and other serious genetic conditions. % 2 19% Diagnostic Categories 21% 19% 29% 31% 31% 31% General Rehabilitation 29% Ventilator Weaning & Respiratory 21% Neuro TBI/ABI 30% 19% Medically Complex 2012 Highlights • In November 2012, Blythedale celebrated the opening of The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for Speech & Audiology. The new 6,000 square foot Center is home to Blythedale’s comprehensive inpatient and outpatient speech, hearing and language services, as well as dedicated assistive technology rooms. • Blythedale recorded 548 unique patient admissions in 2012, totaling 28,559 inpatient days. 60% of Blythedale’s patients were referred directly from PICUs and NICUs. Approximately half were admitted for comprehensive acute inpatient rehabilitation (including recovery from complicated surgery, multiple trauma, and rheumatologic crisis), while nearly a third were admitted for respiratory care or ventilator weaning. 21% were admitted for neurologic care, including recovery from traumatic brain injury and stroke. The Hospital’s average length of stay was 52 days. The Hospital received admissions from more than 20 hospitals and leading academic centers in 2012, including New York Presbyterian (Columbia and Cornell), Westchester Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York/North Shore LIJ Health System, Jacobi Medical Center, NYU/Bellevue and Mount Sinai. • Last year, Blythedale celebrated the 15th anniversary of the enormously successful ventilator-weaning program. To date, more than 1,500 medically fragile infants and children have been successfully weaned from mechanical ventilation, and, after six years, 97% of the children weaned remain ventilator free. • Blythedale continued contracting with school districts in the greater metropolitan region to provide on-site Physical Therapy (21 schools in 10 districts), Occupational Therapy (25 schools in 6 districts) and Speech Therapy (26 sites in 11 districts) for students. In addition, the Hospital provided Audiology services in eight schools. The Hospital’s therapy outsourcing program serves school districts in Westchester and Rockland counties. • Blythedale has a rigorous program for continuous quality assessment and improvement, and a focus on best practices. In 2012, our bloodstream infection rate was zero, as were incidences of vent-related pneumonia, late-stage decubitis ulcers and infections pre- and posttransplant. 85% of our patients were discharged home, and in a Press Ganey survey, 95% of parents reported that they would recommend Blythedale Children’s Hospital.
Research Research is a top priority at Blythedale. Through its Pediatric Research Program, Blythedale conducts select studies that promise to have a significant impact on treatment modalities for children with complex medical and physical challenges. Our robust Research program is a natural outgrowth of our commitment to children and our culture of innovative clinical and multi-disciplinary care. Blythedale’s Scientific Advisory Board, comprised of prominent scientists and pediatric faculty, provides feedback on our research studies. In 2012, Blythedale’s Research Task Force identified short and longer term goals, including the vitally important ongoing development of collaborations with other universities and organizations. To that end, the Research team identified 39 ideas for future study, and is targeting a “top ten” list which includes studies on Balance Master intervention, urinary tract infection treatment, the use of nebulized medication to control drooling in infants, and feeding frequency in children with long-term feeding issues. 2012 Highlights • Robotic research continued at Blythedale, with two collaborative studies involving MIT, Riley Children’s Hospital, Rancho Los Amigos, and New York Medical College. These studies are looking at key variables that underlie recovery of motor function, attention to task and intensity of practice. Participants continue to show gains in muscle tone following therapy with the elbow/shoulder and/or wrist robot. • A team of physical therapists at Blythedale continued their gait analysis study utilizing Balance Master technology. The Balance Master offers visual feedback to patients as they stand on different surfaces, challenging and strengthening components of their balance skills. This interactive technology is being used to study walking velocity and check for safe walking speeds as it relates to crossing a city street. The team presented their preliminary findings at the annual meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association in Florida, in June. • Blythedale began preparation of an exciting new study to be done in collaboration with Columbia, Cornell and Burke. This promising new line of research uses transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and will be started in 2013. tDCS is a non-invasive, painless tool that has been used to stimulate brain activity in a variety of conditions, including: Parkinson’s, stroke, and sleep disorders. • Members of Blythedale’s research team were published in the November 2012 issue of the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The article, New Horizons for Robot-Assisted Therapy in Pediatrics, highlights Blythedale’s pediatric study of robot-assisted therapies for the upper and lower limbs, as well as potential benefits, challenges and needs for future development. 3
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2012 Annual Report - Blythedale Children's Hospital

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